Godzilla Vs The Gryphon
by Zillah 91
Summary: Inspired by an abandoned script for the US Godzilla movie. Ten years ago, Godzilla awakened. Now, a horror of awesome power will arrive from the depths of space, and the King of the Monsters will be our only hope. Story better than summary. COMPLETE.
1. Prelude: Antarctica 1997

As the description says, a story inspired by the original script for TriStar's _Godzilla_. This is basically "what a Godzilla remake would be like if I made it". There'll be little references in the plot to various Godzilla films if you look, especially "Ghidorah, the three-headed monster" and "Godzilla 2000".

Godzilla is © Toho

* * *

PRELUDE: ANTARCTICA, 1997

_1997, Northern Tip of the Antarctic Peninsula_

The sound of the Chopper blades was the only thing cutting through the cold silence of the Antarctic air, the silvery full moon beaming down through veils of icy clouds as the tiny craft neared the field of lights and concrete before it.

Jason Lampard bolted upright as the man beside him poked him in the arm, rousing him instantly from his sleep.

"Hunh?" He snorted, blinking at the shock of waking so suddenly.

"Seatbelt," His companion nodded to him, "Looks like we reached the end of the world."

Jason pulled the straps of the seatbelt over his body, covered in thick clothing to protect against the cold of the Antarctic. Though a physically fit man in his early 20's, he still knew the dangers of the frozen continent. No scientist in his right mind went out into the field without knowing what he was doing. As he fumbled, a small camera fell to the floor besides him.

"Sorry," Jason apologised as the man handed it to him, "Promised my daughter I'd bring back some snapshots."

The chopper descended, landing on the 'H' near the centre of the Military base that surrounded the huge crack splitting the frozen ground.

"Professor Lampard," The Sergeant outside greeted him as he stepped down from his transport, "Sergeant Michaels, welcome aboard."

"Thanks," Jason nodded as he hauled the cases of clothing and equipment, "I was hoping we could go over the situation one more time?"

"Not a problem," Michaels nodded as he led the professor toward the elevated platform that hung over the edge of the crevice, "As you know, a nuclear submarine was recently sunk in this area, without giving us any idea of why it decided to explode." The platform started moving down, past the edge of the crack and moving down sheer walls of ice. Then we get in touch with the eggheads… sorry, scientists… and we found that there was geological activity about two days before. We set up here, and before long we found the 'sample'."

"Sample?" Jason parroted as the platform stopped. The area before him was filled with soldiers and scientists going from one small research station to another. The chasm was truly vast, hundreds of feet in height and width, lit by the chains of lights evidently set up in a hurry.

Michaels turned, nodding toward something behind Jason.

"That sample."

To say the thing was 'big' would be an understatement. It reached up to an impossible height, frozen within a wall of ice.

The jaws of a saurian head were parted within the ice, a slightly elongated neck above muscular shoulders and a lean, well-built torso. The beast was built like a prize fighter, with well-developed arms, each ending in four spread-out clawed fingers, were held close to its chest like a boxer. Thick, muscular legs hung down in the ice below it, with massive spikes the shape of Japanese maple leaves jutting from its back and rows of smaller spines visible on the back of its neck and the top of its head. A long tail was curled behind the leviathan.

"Sweet Mother of God…" Jason stared up with wide eyes, "What… what is it?"

"That's what you boys are supposed to be telling us," Michaels explained, "We found the thing when we got here, and nobody's been able to pin it down to any known species. Something like that, anyway. Looks like we've got us one hell of a dinosaur fossil."

"No," Jason shook his head, "That's no dinosaur. How big is it?"

"About 180 feet head-to-toe," Michaels recited, "270 if you count the tail, and I think it's about 90 feet wide at the hips. Big, any way you slice it."

"Big doesn't cover this," Jason breathed, "There's never been a species on this planet anywhere _near_ that big."

On elevated platforms at the side of the gargantuan thing, groups of scientists started assembling and raising pieces of equipment, applying them to the ice.

"They're cutting it out," Jason realised. "It looks like it's in suspended animation. How long's it been in there?"

"About 50 years, according to the science boys."

"Only 50?" Jason visibly shook, "Good God… where the hell could that thing have come from?"

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The industrial saws kept cutting, slicing clean through the ice around the still and unmoving leviathan.

"This is unbelievable," Jason turned over the page of the report, "There seems to have been no cellular degeneration whatsoever. It's perfectly preserved… hell, there's even a chance that the… the uh…"

"Gojira," The scientist next to him finished for him.

"Godzilla?" Jason repeated

"Gojira. But that's good too. That's the name we came up with for this thing. It's a mix of the Japanese words for 'whale' and 'gorilla'. We though it sounded good."

And then, it happened.

On the ice covering the body of the great beast, a crack appeared.

Then another.

And another, until the sound of the splintering surface drew the attention of the people below.

Each one of them watched agape as a spider-web pattern of cracks spread out over the monster's form, the ice weakening with every passing second, until…

A blazing, orange eye moved, its pupil dilating.

A chest covered in dark-grey scales rose and fell.

Finally, the ice smashed, the creature's form swinging round as it broke free.

A thunderous roar sounded from the creature's throat; a high-pitched, earth-shaking scream of untold fury at its imprisonment.

The cavern filled with screams of shock and terror as the behemoth freed itself, immense three-clawed feet slamming onto the icy ground.

With another ear-breaking roar, the creature turned, clawed hands digging into the side of the chasm as the frozen floor cracked apart beneath it, falling into the abyss beneath.

Jason Taylor could only watch as the floor fell beneath him.

As he fell toward the abyss, feeling the rush of air slam into his body and falling with what had been his foothold, Jason Taylor profoundly understood that his life was over.

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The Antarctic ground smashed open, the huge form of the leviathan bursting upwards as it hauled itself up into the air, roaring into the air in its freedom.

Sergeant Michaels looked up in utter amazement at the freed creature, watching its parted jaws bellow into the night air. Even a man such as he, trained and disciplined and commanding, could not help but be awestruck at the sight of the great beast.

He managed to shout only a single word, at the top of his lungs, before the monster's foot descended upon him.

"Fire!"

The beast shot forward faster than anyone could expect, its foot slamming into the middle of the base as the soldiers scrambled beneath it. One man raised his assault rifle and squeezed the trigger, the impact utterly unnoticed by the huge creature.

Its tail swung to the side, striking the guard tower with earth-shattering force as the tonnes of manmade material descended through the air, those who dived out of its way able only to watch powerlessly as the monster stormed toward the shore.

A beam of light streamed through the air behind it, the beast's orange eyes turning as the flying masses of metal rose. The guns and missiles of the three Apache attack choppers trained on the mountain of scales and spines before them.

The foremost chopper fired, a pair of missiles illuminating the night sky before exploding in spheres of flame on the monster's chest.

Godzilla's jaws snapped forward, catching one chopper between them as they closed, the machine exploding into a shower of burning metal as the creature turned to the second craft. Even as it fired, the great beast's tail smashed into it, the machine smashing to pieces in one fell swoop.

The monster leaned back, the row of spikes on its back flashing blue and lighting up the night sky. The light flashed from its hips, up its back and through its eyes in a split second. A stream of flame burst forward, consuming the chopper and, when it ceased, leaving nothing where it had stood.

With one last, deafening roar, Godzilla turned, diving down into the water, the immense splash subsiding as it shot away through the water.

Godzilla was awake.

* * *

And thus, the story begins! There'll be about 17 chapters in the story, as this is the first time I've actually planned what'll happen in each one. One of my longer opening chapters there, too. Anyway this chapter was a reference to "Godzilla Raids Again", "King Kong Vs Godzilla" and "Godzilla: Final Wars". Expect to see some themes from the films, including aliens, psychics, hi-tech weapons and, of course, giant monsters beating the crud out of each other.

All Reviews Welcome!


	2. Ten Years Later

OK, time now for the second chapter. No actual monster goodness here, just putting up the characters and establishing the setting, blah, blah. But the monsters will show up soon. And there will be violence. Lots of violence.

Godzilla is © Toho. The Gryphon is probably © Somebody. Probably Toho.

* * *

TEN YEARS LATER

_2007, New York City, USA, United States Mutation Countermeasures Force Headquarters_

Major Jill Lampard checked the document over one last, time, penned her signature across the bottom and placed the pile of papers in the 'out' tray.

It was on days like this that she wished she'd never accepted that promotion. She wasn't suited to a desk job, and it seemed _everything_ had to go through her. Invoices, requisitions, even requests for leave. Sometimes she found herself wandering if she could get out of it, just for a day, by dousing the office in gasoline and applying a match to it.

Still, that was the last of it today.

Atop each piece of paper was an insignia, pure-green, resembling a silhouette of the beast that had first appeared in Antarctica, in the middle of a crosshairs. The letters beneath read 'USMCF' If only the organisation actually got to _do_ something, instead of the public just seeing the whole thing as a colossal waste of taxpayers' money. If only that damn lizard would turn up just _once_.

"I love my job," She muttered darkly to herself, filing away the last of the items on her desk.

Light-brown hair was kept tied back, and despite being in her mid-30's, she looked considerably younger than she actually was.

A slight beep and a red light flared on the intercom besides her. Pressing one of the two lit buttons, she leaned on the arm of her chair and listened.

"Just a reminder about the presentation this afternoon, Major," The voice informed her.

"I know," Jill answered, pressing the other button.

"Mrs. Lampard?" The female voice on the other end addressed her, "This is East Side High School."

"Oh, great," Jill gritted her teeth and snapped the pencil in her hand, "What's she done this time?"

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"You stole a car?" Jill practically screamed at her daughter as they walked down the steps of the police station.

"I wasn't gonna keep it," The 17-year-old next to her flicked back a lock of long, dark-brown hair. The girl wore a low-cut blue T-Shirt and a pair of skin-tight jeans, and had a figure that would make the average teenage male's eyes pop out of his head.

"You stole a car!" Jill repeated furiously.

"From somebody who deserved it," The girl rolled her eyes as they climbed into the car that sat waiting for them.

"I don't care. You stole a car! Why the hell weren't you in class?"

The teen gave no answer as the vehicle started up.

"Answer me, young lady," Jill ordered.

"I wasn't in class because I was getting back at him," Her daughter answered sharply.

"And that justified skipping class? To steal a car?"

"He still deserved it."

"You broke the law." Jill reminded her. "The law says you have to be in School. The law says you're not allowed to steal a car!"

"Can you just ground me already?" The teenager rolled her eyes.

Jill pulled over, the car stopping next to the sidewalk as Jill let out a frustrated sigh.

"Come on, Tina," She insisted, "You're smarter than this."

"So?"

"So, you're a smart girl. You know it. I know it. You could go far with what you've got, if you'd just keep out of trouble. You've got a good mind, and you should use it."

"That's what Dad did," Tina answered, looking away. "Look where it got him."

A long second of silence ticked by.

"You think he would've wanted you to go around stealing someone's car?"

"He wouldn't have wanted me falling into a giant hole in the ground."

Jill sighed again, looking out the windscreen.

"Just go home," She instructed, "I need to get back to work."

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"A theory long held by the scientist community," The young, bespectacled man read out, "Is that the organism known as Godzilla was created by radioactive fallout from the previous explosion of the Nuclear Submarine, the _S.S. Sea Hawk_. We can now confirm, however, that this theory is incorrect."

Major Josh Plaqueze shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He was a military man, not a scientist. Hand him a gun, point at the target and he'd shoot it. Easy. But whenever the eggheads started talking about stuff like this, it just sounded to him like they were stringing random, complicated words together in a sentence. That had to be it, sometimes.

The scientist continued, "This has long been a suspicion due to the impeccable preservation of the specimen, and, judging by what remained of the crevice discovered on the Antarctic Peninsula, the age at which the specimen was found. Judging by this, and trace amounts of radioactivity detected in skin samples discovered in the area of the discovery, we must therefore assume that the specimen was irradiated before the explosion of the _Sea Hawk_."

He pressed a few keys on the computer next to him, switching the screen from a cross-section of Godzilla to a map of the Bikini Atol in the South Pacific.

"The more recent theory," He continued, "Is that Godzilla's mutation is instead a result of nuclear fallout resulting from the atomic bomb tests carried out in the South Pacific. There have been scattered reports…" The map switched to a view of a single island, "Of sightings of bizarre creatures in that area shortly after the tests were brought to an end. There is evidence to suggest that Godzilla himself was the creature in these sightings, and later became frozen in Antarctica."

"If Godzilla was radioactive for as long as you say," One of the audience members spoke up, "Why did it remain undetected for over fifty years?"

"Godzilla is radioactive," The scientist admitted, "But his body actually gives off no more radiation than one would receive from, say, standing next to a television. The only instance in which Godzilla gives off potentially harmful, or even detectable, amounts of radiation is when it uses its natural defences."

"You mean his 'fire breath'." Another audience member surmised.

"The technical term for the defence is 'radioactive incendiary breath'," The scientist nodded, "Though the exact mechanism behind its use remains unknown, the working theory on the subject is that it is an expelled burst of the radioactive energy contained in Godzilla's body."

"Then if this is true, could using it possibly consume all the energy in its body?"

"It is possible that excessive use of this mechanism could lessen Godzilla's offensive capabilities, though doing so would suggest that there is a limited amount available in Godzilla's body, and as such it would have to 'refuel', so to speak, from fissionable materials; something it has never been seen to do."

"Is this the basis for the new weapon to be used against Godzilla?" A female voice asked.

"Yes," The scientist stammered briefly, "We have reason to believe than a concentrated application of Cadmium, which is used as a seal on nuclear reactors, could have the potential to slow down or even halt the radioactive processes within Godzilla's body."

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"You seem stressed," Plaqueze noted the look in Jill Lampard's eyes.

"That damn girl got herself in trouble again," Jill admitted, "I swear to God, she'll be the death of me."

"Can't say I blame her. Personally I'd take joyriding over listening to some science whiz talk on about mutations and cadmium."

"That's their job," Jill shrugged. "Can't say fairer than that."

Across the room, the young scientist, putting away his glasses, stepped out of the doors leading into the headquarters of the USMCF.

"Well, well," A woman's voice called to him from one side, "Mike Carlhan."

The young man turned round to see the tall, attractive blonde walking up to him.

"Sara," He realised, "You… you, uh, look…"

"And you look like a man in need of a drink," The woman took his arm in hers, "Saw your conference. Truly moving."

"Yeah, very funny. When did you get into New York?"

"When I heard my boyfriend was speaking to the Top Brass about Godzilla, and the station asked me to cover it. So: Work later. Drink now."

* * *

Ugh. That was hard stuff to write. Anyway, not a huge amount to say about that chapter, though now you've been introduced to most of the cast; most, but not quite all. For this story, expect a sort of "'Jurassic Park' meets 'Aliens' during a bombing raid" but still with (hopefully) Godzilla getting the respect her deserves; one thing the remake sorely lacked.

All Reviews Welcome!


	3. Arrival of Evil

And now we begin Chapter 3, in which the story really kicks off. Enjoy. Also some of my geography may be off here. Meh.

Godzilla is © Toho

* * *

ARRIVAL OF EVIL

The endless void stretched on into eternity, and endless distance of black twinkling with tiny spots of light. The endless darkness and beauty of space, within it hanging that blue and green sphere, a single lifeless moon standing silently between it and the brilliant light of the sun.

And then it came.

Streaking across the boundless surface of black space and twinkling stars, the long, jagged rock moved forth with uncanny speed, passing next to the blue sphere.

Until, as it passed the lifeless moon, its course suddenly changed, arcing downwards as it passed the moon, down towards the sphere. As it began to fall into the atmosphere, the meteorite began to burn, the surface of the rock cracking before heat and pressure.

Even as it passed through the atmosphere, it still burned, streaking down out of the twinkling night sky.

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Kansas, 115 miles south of Kansas City 

The old farmer's voice boomed out of the farmhouse.

"That freakin' idiot!" He yelled, "God damn it, look at this!"

"Well you can't be too hard on the boy," His wife answered him, "He's only just started, y'know."

"Don't you go taking his side again, Barbara! Sometimes it feels like I'm the only man around here pulls his own weight. Hang on, I'll drive by the Wilkersons' place, see if they got a bucket."

The fat, grizzled man pushed the door open, stepping out towards the old pickup truck that sat at the edge of the field.

"Least I can count on the freaking truck," He scratched the back of his head as he started walking towards the vehicle.

As soon as he took a step, however, he felt his attention drawn up toward the sky.

There it was, bright burning orange-red, in the sky.

As he blinked, he was almost certain it grew bigger…

Yes, it was… growing not bigger, but closer, shooting toward him in a stream of fire.

"Holy Sh…"

The meteorite impacted before him, shooting down straight into the side of his truck, the vehicle exploding in a burst of flames, charred metal and chunks of Earth flying outwards as the chunk of burning rock shot clean through the pickup truck and into the ground, a cloud of burning dust and smoke hanging in the air, before the black charred licence plate fell to the ground before his feet.

"What in Hell's name?" The farmer gaped, taking a tentative step forward.

Where the pickup truck once stood, was now a burned, charred, deep hole in the ground, at least eight feet across.

But the strange thing was that, from one side to another, the crater was completely filled with some sort of liquid; off-white, slimy ooze that sat bubbling in the crater, like impure, melted silver.

The farmer stood still and blinked as the liquid ceased bubbling, remaining perfectly still.

And then, it started to flow, spreading out in every direction at once, flowing towards random spots on in the filled crater as streams of the bubbling ooze folded over each other, forming gelatinous mounds.

The farmer stepped back, as a sliver of ooze began worming its way past the edge of the crater.

"Bar!" He shouted back to the house, "Get out here, you ain't gonna believe…"

Before he could finish, he heard the dull, hissing noise behind him and felt hot, foul breath on the back of his neck.

He turned just in time to see the claws and fangs lash out.

There was a scream, then a muffled cry for help, and then a high-pitched shriek, splitting the night air, accompanied by a disgusting sucking noise as the farmer's screams faded into silence.

The door to the farmhouse opened as the farmer's wife, a portly woman with curly brown hair, looked out to see the source of her husband's terrified scream.

At what she saw, she screamed herself, standing in utter horror at the nightmare that lay before her eyes.

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The images flashed before her eyes suddenly, brightly, unexpectedly and noisily, like a thousand forgotten memories shooting into her brain.

There was the meteor, blazing down through the clouds in a stream of fire.

And then there were the creatures, so many creatures, and all so different. Others had gold skin, some green, some blue and some red, some had no skin but instead scales, fur or even stone. Some had wings covered in the most brilliant of white feathers, looking like angels with their brilliant golden skin. Others had the widest of black, scaly wings and looked like devils with the dark red of their fur. Some looked truly horrible, with claws or tentacles of fins, sometimes a mass of writhing tendrils all that she could discern of a face.

Some were humanoid, or stood upright, but there were also animals, white saurians with rows of long spikes jutting from their backs, long eels with fins that stretched out on either side, tiny green bugs with feathery wings or weightless birds with wings stretching out into the air and scaly bodies underneath layers of white fur.

But there was one thing that they all had in common.

They were all dying.

They were there, in their dying moments, crying or screaming or howling or roaring in pain as teeth and fangs dug into their flesh.

And then there were the things responsible, flying past moons of white and silver and green and black, there in the light with wings stretched out, swooping down upon their victims.

And then, there it was, breaking out of its rocky prison, ready to feed and destroy all over again. And every time it would be different.

And then there were more of those wonderful and weird and terrifying creatures, all of them falling, screaming and dying.

And then…

And then, there were no more and thens.

And then Tina shot up in bed, shaking, a thin layer of sweat clinging to her underwear-clad boy as she let the sheets fall, panting heavily into the air as he hair fell around her face.

_Just a dream,_ She told herself, _It was just a dream_.

Wasn't it?

But it had seemed so real, as if she was right there, all those things dying as the monsters descended on them.

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Pacific Ocean, 800 miles South West of Hawaii 

It was far beneath the surface of the rolling waves, where the breeze would rock the waters and they would froth and churn. It was down below the reach of even the sunlight, here in the darkness where the weird and wonderful creatures went to and fro.

Jellyfish, such bizarre bodies with their tentacles and stingers, squids with their long masses of tentacles pushing them through the water, tiny luminous fish and bigger fish with such strange lights hanging from the end of the protrusions on their heads.

There were so many of them, so many predators, and so many different preys.

And then, they turned as one, like a wave of flesh sweeping through the darkness as the rumbling came near.

As they moved, the massive thing moved behind them, a swing of a massive tail propelling it forward.

Godzilla had awakened again.

* * *

After this is where the story's going to deviate a bit from the original script, not just in setting but also in storyline; this is really more my idea for the script than a direct adaptation. Feel free to guess what happened with Tina, it'll be interesting to see if anyone gets it right. And no, that wasn't the Gryphon that came out of the meteor. Quite a lot will happen before the ugly beastie shows up.

All Reviews Welcome!


	4. Approach of Death

Sorry for the lack of updates in the past week; been off to Cornwall for a vacation. Nice place, but the weather sucked. If you've never had real Cornish Ice Cream, go there and buy some. Now. Also, there was this rock there that, I swear, looked _just_ like Godzilla.

Godzilla is © Toho

* * *

APPROACH OF DEATH

USGDF HQ, New York

The command centre was bustling with activity; all three double-rows of computer terminals were in use, with the massive screen mounted on the wall and the three screens either side flashing with images and video feeds.

"What happened?" Jill demanded as the automatic doors slid shut behind her. She came to a stop at the railing that sat at the edge of an elevated area at the back of the USGDF command centre.

"Got a sighting," A boy in his late teens swung round at a terminal beside her, "About 50 miles Northeast of Hawaii, of, and I quote, 'a gigantic lashing tail that rose up out of the sea'. Sound like anyone we know?"

"Godzilla." Jill realised coldly. "Where's he going?"

"If he keeps up this curve in his path," The boy indicated towards the screen, "He'll hit San Francisco by morning; and I don't think he's going there to see the Golden Gate Bridge, call it a hunch."

That explanation in itself summed up Jack; a 19-year-old computer genius working for a government agency after the FBI found out he was the one responsible for hacking into the USGDF computer network… at age 12. At first, Jill doubted whether the kid took anything seriously; he was even cracking jokes about a giant mutant lizard being about to hit a major population centre. But she realised a while ago that this was just his way of dealing with things; he had an important, tough job at way too young of an age, and that was why he joked, even about Godzilla. Nothing seemed as scary when you could laugh at it, after all.

"Tomorrow?" Jill realised, "How fast is he going?"

"About 40 knots. Fast for such a big guy."

"Jesus…"

"Tough day?"

"What?"

"You're practically snapping that iron bar in two," Jack shrugged. "Or is it none of my business?"

"Tina," Jill muttered.

"Is that 'Tina's in trouble' or 'Tina is the trouble'? Or is that the part that's none of my business?"

"It's both."

"Ouch."

"She stole a car to get back at her ex."

"She knows how to get back at someone?" Jack shrugged.

"What?"

"Sorry. Wasn't meant to say that out loud," Jack cringed.

"Forget it. What's the status on the D-3s?"

"How do I know?" Jack shrugged, "I'm the computer geek, not the rocket scientist. Besides, we might not even get to use them."

"What?"

"Red tape, regulations, etc. Remember? He was detected before making landfalls, and that means the boat-jockeys get first digs at him."

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Kansas

The police cruiser slowed to a stop, tiny clouds of dust surrounding the wheels as the officer stepped out into the hot sun, wiping a thin layer of sweat from his brow.

"This better be good, Mitch," He warned the inspector who stood in front of the old farmhouse, "You know I hate getting up this early in the damn morning."

"Define 'good'," The inspector replied, "Don't even know why we're here now that the forensics boys are here; it's all freakin' forensics nowadays. Personally I blame that CSI crap," He took a sip of coffee. "CSI: Miami, CSI: New York…"

"So what've we got?"

"Two corpses and a field full of science boys. Take a look if you like," he took another sip, "But you'd better take a barf bag."

The officer walked past the figures clad in white bio-suits, to look down at the body of the farmer.

"Mary, mother of God…" He whispered in shock.

A deep, open wound was in the middle of the farmer's chest, but not a drop of blood still leaked from it. The figure's skin was a dull grey, devoid of any blood or fluids whatsoever. Even his eyes were dry and crusty, and the flesh around the wound was dull and grey. It was as though every last drop of blood had been sucked from the body.

"Looks like some sort of ritual thing," The inspector walked up behind him, "The wife's pretty much the same as this; found her inside the house with a gun in her hand. We can't do much, anyway, not until these guys clear out," He gestured to a nearby crowd of bio-suit-clad figures.

"Forensics?"

"Nope. NASA."

"The space guys?"

"Yup. Something landed here last night; meteorite, they're saying. Smashed clean through the guy's truck."

"What, so little green men?"

"Probably just some sick-ass cult. So: Suggestions, Frank?"

The officer looked down at the body, and over to the gathering of scientists.

"I suggest… that it's miller time."

"It's 11 am, Frank."

"On a day like this, that's miller time."

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Indianapolis, Illinois

The teenage boy and girl lay together on the double-bed, their arms around each other, the girl giggling as they kissed, before the sound of a barking dog cut through the house.

"One second," The girl groaned as she sat up, quickly heading out of the room and downstairs to the back door, whereupon she grabbed the handle and pushed it open.

But as the door swung open, there was no sign of her pet in the back yard; only a sudden, painful, frightened yelp from out of sight.

"Sparky?" The girl shouted, "Sparky, you out here…"

A mass of fur and flesh suddenly descended in front of her, falling to the ground with a dull 'thud'. The girl screamed as she looked down at the remains of the dog, a gaping wound in its side and its empty eyes still wide open.

A tiny drop of something splashed down onto her head, somehow disgustingly warm. Wiping her forehead, the red smear across her hand informed her that it was raining blood.

She looked up as the red-stained fangs of the creature above her, dripping with blood, parted, and it lunged down to attack.

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USGDF HQ, New York

The vehicle slowed to a stop, the huge pair of double-cylinders on its roof pivoting up, the large caps on the end sliding open.

"The D-3's have been ready for practical application for long enough," The technician informed Sgt. Plaqueze, "But the NT-20 mirrors aren't perfected. They're ready, but they're not perfect."

"Heard you the first time," Plaqueze reprimanded him, "So get them ready."

"Within a day?"

"Can you?"

"Not a chance in hell."

"Well, try. How much damage is this tech going to do?"

"The D-3's have a Napalm payload powerful enough to send an office building up in flames. As for the NT-20's… they're still experimental. We've got about three prototypes, maybe we can build two more in the time we've got, but all we've perfected is the principle. The theory. We don't know how well they'll perform, how much they can take…"

"Right, right, and these things are designed to…?"

"The D-3's are equipped with drill-tipped warheads that burrow into the target before detonating. The idea is to dig into Godzilla's skin and then blow it apart from the inside-out."

"So it'll either kill him, or hurt like a bitch."

"Right. As for the NT-20's, they covered in reflective surfaces constructed from an artificial diamond compound. The idea is that they'll absorb the energy of Godzilla's atomic flame breath and reflect the heat and kinetic force of it."

"So what's the problem?"

"We don't know how much the compound can take, how much it can reflect… we don't even know exactly how powerful the fire breath is."

"Are we even ready at all?"

"With respect, sir," The technician explained, "Godzilla hasn't been seen in ten years; he's never attacked or been attacked in that time. We don't know what he's capable of, we don't know how thick his skin is- even the D-3's might not be able to penetrate it, for all we know; we know an absolute minimum about what we're going up against."

"Doctor," Plaqueze replied harshly, "There is a 180-foot-tall mutant about to hit San Francisco like the 25,000 tonnes of radioactive aggression that it is. We _will_ be ready, even if we have to bomb that city into the ground."

"Sir," The technician asked as Plaqueze turned away, "Are… are they actually considering bombing San Francisco?"

"The city will be evacuated and we'll have first crack at him once he makes landfall. Beyond that, all I'm authorised to say is that the Pentagon is considering all possible options."

Plaqueze walked out of the testing laboratory, leaving the technician to his thoughts.

* * *

And there we go. The main reason I put Jack in here is because I like having comic relief characters; as I've said many times, they more or less write themselves. Anyway, starting next chapter there'll be a wee bit of political stuff, satire and otherwise, in the true spirit of Godzilla movies. By the way, this is the first chapter to be written on my shiny new laptop:D

Next Chapter: The big green guy makes his big green debut!

All Reviews Welcome!


	5. War at Sea

Been a wait, I know, but at last it's time for the big guy to show himself. I know I've done the 'coming up under the ship' thing before, but God help me, I love that move.

Oh yeah, I know the USMCF's name briefly changed in Chapter 3. My bad.

Godzilla is © Toho. Not sure who the Gryphon is ©.

* * *

WAR AT SEA

The door into Major Jill Lampard's office exploded outwards, as the Major stormed out, slamming the door against the wall.

"Wasn't me!" Jack shouted from down the corridor, "Whatever it was, it wasn't me… what is it?"

"Look at this!" Jill pointed into her office. With a Gallic shrug, Jack stepped in and looked down at the computer screen.

It showed the usual, attractive female newsreader matted over a background of the pentagon building, but what had clearly caught Jill's attention was what she was saying:

"…The US Navy will be in position in under forty minutes, despite the fact that Godzilla is presently still in International Waters. Nations including China and Iran have condemned the United States for taking unilateral action toward…"

"Idiots," Jill sighed heavily, "There's a giant monster swimming to San Francisco, we're trying to stop it and these morons are worried about politics!"

"They're congressmen. They get paid to sit around and say stupid things." Jack answered casually. "My Dad always used to say: Politics is Hollywood for ugly people."

Jill couldn't help but crack a smile.

The phone bleeped on her desk, and she simply flicked the 'off' switch.

"I don't have time for this," She cursed, "I've got a city to evacuate, and can you believe this- they don't want to give us first shot at Godzilla if he lands. Apparently we've never demonstrated out capabilities. God… look, Jack, just take care of this for me, OK?"

"Take care of what?"

"Tina… Oh crap…"

"What?"

"Tina doesn't know you work here," Jill admitted. "Look, I'll explain this later, just go and do… something! You're kids. Think of something."

With that, she stormed out of the room.

"And my Dad thought being a driving instructor was a stressful job," Jack shook his head before walking out.

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Tina looked around the front entrance of the USMCF building, moving a strand of hair out of her eyes before she spotted someone approaching.

"Jack?" She smiled as she recognised the person, "What are you doing here?"

"Working," Jack answered, "Ish. You?"

"My mom works here… hold up, you do _not_ work here!"

"Yeah I do. Got a desk and a chair with wheels and everything," Jack gave a goofy grin.

"They don't let teenagers work here," Tina retorted as they walked off.

"They do if they're geniuses."

"And you're a genius?"

"Yep. Can't help it. Born smart, I guess. So what about you? Haven't seen you in years."

"I saw something about Godzilla on the news."

"So did the whole country," Jack cringed, "Your mom was hoping we could keep this under wraps, maybe they could deal with him before he hit shore, so, as you'd expect, she's spitting teeth right now."

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"What?" Jill shouted at the top of her lungs.

"No radio contact," Plaqueze gritted his teeth. "They don't even want us advising on this."

"Bullshit!" Jill snapped, "We've got the world's leading experts on that thing in this very room. They know Jack and Squat about it, and Jack just left town!"

"Jill, we can't exactly force them to listen," Miki reminded her.

"They're going to get themselves killed. This isn't about defence, they're just showboating and trying to beat Godzilla all by their high-and-mighty selves! What are they sending?"

"Two Naval Destroyers," Plaqueze read out, "The _SS Intrepid _and _Arbitrator_, one aircraft carrier, the _Protector_, and a pair of nuclear-class attack subs, the _Anchorage_ and _Indiana_."

"Major," A technician spoke up, "We just got word that the UN is demanding the Navy pull out."

"Not our call, apparently," Jill snapped. "God, the battle hasn't even started and this is already a disaster…"

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The three craft cut their course through the waves, the rightmost craft, the _Arbitrator_, foremost and moving in a wide arc, each radar screen picking up that single object; far more than just a blip, 270 feet from end to end.

"Subject's accelerated to 40 knots, sir," A seaman reported aboard the _Protector_, "The _Indiana_ is closing in Starboard, and our boys are ready to launch."

"And the _Anchorage_?" The captain asked.

"Moving around it to close in from the rear Starboard."

"Then we've got its retreat cut off?"

"The _Arbitrator_ is in position now, sir."

"Give the order to launch. Get me a fix on this thing and open fire with everything we've got."

"Aye, sir."

Atop the naval destroyer, five fighter craft gunned their engines, blasting outwards on streams of smoke to swoop in wide arcs in the air, as if forming the girders of a dome as they closed in on the shape that rose upwards.

"We're in firing range, sir."

"Open fire!"

The surface of the water started to churn, the waves surging apart as the massive shape broke the surface, rows of jagged, razor-sharp spikes rising from the water as the surf fell from their sides.

Before Godzilla could even rise, a hail of missiles shot forth from each of the Destroyers. At the same moment, missiles fell from the wings of the F-18s, igniting and shooting forth through the air.

The wave of destruction slammed into the rising creature, exploding as one into a sea of fire. The column of flames filled the air, thick, black smoke rising up as the sea boiled.

"Direct hit! …What the… target's still moving!"

A saurian head turned through the walls of flame, a thunderous howl of rage echoing forth as the flames parted. The reptilian head bellowed its fury, blazing orange eyes glaring their anger.

As one of the jets swooped past, Godzilla's parted jaws snapped forth, catching the tiny craft between massive teeth, slicing through metal as fuel and missiles exploded in a cloud of fire.

A wave of light flashed from Godzilla's hips, up his spinal plates and through his eyes the air convulsing around his mouth with the smell of burning ozone, before a stream of blue fire burst forth, consuming two more of the jets. By the time it ceased, all that remained of the craft was falling, charred remains.

With an angry snarl, Godzilla turned and dove down into the water in a column of surf.

Aboard the bridge of the _Indiana_, the radar technician turned around from his work station.

"Target's submerged, sir, we have a clear shot."

"Fire Torpedo 1 and 2."

In streams of air, the torpedoes shot forth from the _Indiana_, blasting forwards and slamming into Godzilla's thick hide with dense, dirty explosions and the dull 'thud' of an underwater explosion.

"Direct hit, target still moving! The _Anchorage_ is opening fire!"

Just as he had said, a pair of torpedoes shot from the _Anchorage,_ arcing to collide with Godzilla. Utterly unaffected, Godzilla slammed into the craft, muscular arms grabbing onto the side of the craft.

"Hull breach!" Someone shouted inside, "Jesus Sh…"

The metal buckled immediately, the entire craft bursting into a ball of fire amidst Godzilla's thunderous roar.

Wafting the fire to one side, Godzilla shot forward, shooting forward through the waves as he whipped his tail to one side, smashing into the _Indiana_, slicing into its hull as the submarine burst into flames.

Turning again, Godzilla shot upwards, gaining speed as he angled himself…

"Target's surfacing!" A soldier aboard the _Arbitrator_ announced.

"Where?"

"At… holy… it's…"

Razor-sharp spikes stabbed into the underbelly of the ship, slicing through metal with that ear-piercing shriek as the ship's engines ignited, the Destroyed burst into flames as steel ribs snapped effortlessly, hull plates shredding like race paper as Godzilla rose, effortlessly reducing one of the mightiest machines every built of man into two sinking piles of scrap.

Wafting the smoke and fire to one side with a massive claw, Godzilla inhaled, the aura of burning air appearing around his mouth again as another wave of energy shot up his back. A stream of fire surged forth, blasting over the distance into the side of the _Intrepid_. The mighty craft ignited instantaneously, erupting into a mushroom cloud of flame.

"God help us," The captain of the _Protector_ gaped, as Godzilla dove forward, shooting through the waves, colliding with the _Protector_ with impossible force

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_USMCF HQ_

"Right… I see."

Plaqueze set down the phone, turning to Jill and Mike.

"They lost the ships."

"Which ones?" Mike asked.

"All of them. Every single one."

"God…" Mike whispered.

"We've already started evacuating San Francisco," Plaqueze declared, "We've got forced ready to move in. The D-3s are ready and we've got an air squadron in striking distance."

"Do it," Jill ordered. "Kill that thing."

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"You think they'll stop him?" Tina asked.

"No clue. I'm just the computer guy, but this is gonna be all over the news."

The computer behind Jack suddenly gave a brief, rapid succession of electronic beeps.

"What's that?" Tina enquired as Jack brought something up on the screen.

"Well you probably know that Godzilla's not the only monster that's shown up in the last ten years. Funny, since he was the first, but that's why we're the 'monster countermeasures force', not 'Godzilla countermeasures'. I wrote a little programme that searches for keywords in news articles, broadcasts, stuff like that, to find anything unusual, and it looks like… yup. Found something."

They both looked at the article that sat in the middle of the screen, and Tina's eyes went wide as she recognised the blurred, winged outline against the moon. The headline read:

"Winged "monsters sighted in five states"

"Well," Jack announced, "Either that's something really weird, or the Bat signal got one hell of an overhaul."

Jack glanced from the article to Tina.

"What's up?" He asked, "Look familiar?"

"Yeah," Tina answered, "Yeah, it does…"

* * *

Wow, that chapter was longer than I expected it'd be. Anyway, I'm quite pleased with it, and there's another showdown planned for the next chapter. Oh, and by the way, here's a quick list of the characters we've met so far:

All Reviews Welcome!


	6. San Francisco

Seems I'm on a roll the past couple of days: Chapter 6 presented for your consideration. And now, I shall portray Godzilla as I have always seen him… bad. Ass.

Godzilla is © Toho

* * *

SAN FRANCISCO

USMCF HQ, New York City

"We have units moving in," Plaqueze reported. "Evacuation's almost complete, and we have about 30 minutes to arrival. Three NT-20s and a unit of D-3s."

Jill looked coldly up at the screen as it changed to show a satellite image over the bay of San Francisco.

"We're ready," She surmised. "Come on, you scaly son of a bitch…"

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"So where did you see this thing, exactly?" Jack asked as his fingers darted across the keyboard, "There's nothing like that photo in our database… well there's something a little like it from a few years ago, but that's dead."

"This is gonna sound really stupid," Tina began, "But I saw it in a dream last night."

"You're right," Jack nodded, "That sounds stupid. But no more so than flying monsters and fire breathing lizards."

"So what does it say on that thing?"

"That there've been seven attacks, all around five states, with victims found completely drained of all bodily fluids and wounded usually in the chest area, all centred around Kansas."

"Meaning what, exactly?"

"On it's own, that this is probably where it started, since that's where the first death happened. Nasty way to go. But if I remember rightly, something else happened last night…"

"Meteor," Tina nodded. "Saw it on the news right before this Godzilla stuff turned up."

"Right. And if Godzilla keeps up this rate of change in the curve of his path," He punched some information into the computer, "He'll end up right… here." The path ended just south of Kansas City.

"Holy Shit," Tina breathed. "He's coming here for this?"

"Looks like it. What a dream has to do with it, I can't say."

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San Francisco, California

The sky over San Francisco was dull and overcast, grey clouds stretching from one horizon to the next. The streets were empty, stores boarded up, and vehicles abandoned. The only sounds were those of approaching engines and commanding officers barking orders.

M-1 Abrams tanks, MRLS missile launchers, and launchers for D-3 missiles rolled through the streets towards the bay, as above them, the screams of jet engines shook the air as a line of six F-18s arced towards the bay, backed by a pair of Harrier jets. Even personnel carriers dispatched soldiers armed with STINGER missile launchers and bazookas.

Lastly, there were three very different trucks, huge top sections opening to reveal blindingly dazzling mirrors of artificial diamond that folded out to a width of 50 feet.

Finally, they waited on the shoreline, a wall of sophisticated slaughter, merely one low building between them and the approaching leviathan.

The bay remained still for a tense, achingly slow moment. Then another… and another…

The water finally shifted as the massive shape rose up, the sea bulging before cascading down in walls of foam, a living mountain of scales and spines erupting from the sea.

The back of Godzilla's head rose first, the water pouring off as the saurian head and massive spinal plates rose up behind it, a lean, muscular form following suit with claws that dangled in the air, finally the tops of his thighs emerging as he stood up in the shallow water of the bay.

Even the most disciplined soldiers craned their necks up in amazement at the sheer size of the beast, before Godzilla pulled back his head and let loose a thunderous roar.

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USMCF HQ

"It's him," Jill breathed, seeing Godzilla first-hand for the first time n her life. "Finally…"

"Orders, Major?" Someone shouted.

Jill inhaled once, her eyes becoming cold, distant and determined.

"Open fire."

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San Francisco

"D-3s, fire!"

The launchers spewed the missiles forth on streams of burning smoke, shooting forward to strike Godzilla as soon as his foot struck the shore. As soon as they impacted, their drills started up as mechanical clamps fixed to the scales on either side, engines flaring to life as they dug into the gaps between Godzilla's scales.

In a series of explosions, the missiles ignited in massive fireballs, Godzilla howling furiously as the blasts covered the upper part of his body.

"All units, open fire!"

Hails of missiles and tank shells shot forward, colliding with literally explosive force, filling the air before them with fire and smoke over Godzilla's furious roars.

Missiles detached from the wings of the F-18s, flaring up and shooting forwards and down to add to the barrage, shooting in streams into the mass of explosions.

And through it all, Godzilla lunged forward, shrugging off every blow as the building before him splintered, steel, brick and mortar crumbling before the force of the monster's movement. As dust and debris flew up into the air, the front of the building crumbled, and still nothing could be seen through the clouds of explosions.

…Until the entire mass of fire and smoke evaporated in a wave of brilliant blue flame, a stream of atomic fire forcing everything to the side as it shot forth into the wall of machines in front of it.

Everything in the path of the blast ignited, man and machine alike, what few payloads remained exploding as Godzilla turned, arcing the stream of fire to the side and consuming everything in its path.

The searing blast struck the NT-20 mirrors, raw energy and power surging into the mirrors that, by the hopes of brilliant men, should repel the blast.

The NT-20 units exploded just as quickly, metal and debris flying out in all directions as the blast continued its sweep.

By the time the blast stopped, nothing remained of the once-mighty fighting force but an arc of burned metal, fire and rising smoke.

"Dear God," One of the pilots gasped, "He just…"

As one of the craft swooped behind him, Godzilla lashed his tail upwards, smashing clear through the craft in another fireball.

Turning his gaze upwards, Godzilla inhaled again, air convulsing and igniting around his mouth as the wave of energy shot up his back. The blast shot forth, shooting up to collide with another jet as it burst into flame. Godzilla turned his head once again, shooting into two more jets as they instantly exploded.

Some crashed to the ground, one made it all the way to the bay, but the third was sent veering away by the force of the blast, slamming into the side of a building in another explosion glass windows shattering and metal grating and folding before the impact as debris rained down into the street.

Godzilla had no idea what he had destroyed; these things, to him, were just annoying, flying creatures. Flying enemies.

Enemies to be destroyed.

Swiping out with another claw, he smashed through another jet in a fiery blast. As another passed overhead, be briefly crouched down before leaping up, catching the craft between his jaws.

"Pull away from him!" One of the two remaining pilots- one F-18 and one Harrier- shouted, "Circle around and…"

Godzilla leapt forward, slammed into the ground with earth-shattering force, then hunched down and bounded up again, catching the jet in his fangs.

Such weak opponents these. But they were not the reason he was here. They were mere obstacles. Nevertheless, he had been threatened. And he would not back down.

Swinging his tail round, Godzilla struck the last jet, sending it flying downwards into a row of small buildings, exploding on impact as the surrounding structure crumbled.

Standing to his full height, Godzilla let out another deafening roar of victory.

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USMCF HQ

"They're dead," someone said meekly, "Lord have mercy…"

"All of that…" Jill shook.

"I know," Plaqueze shook his head.

"All of that, and… he survived that much…"

"I know."

"It didn't even hurt him."

"We need a course of action," Plaqueze reminded her. "That thing's still…"

All eyes suddenly turned back to the view screen at the sound of a crumbling, shaking sound.

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San Francisco

Godzilla hunched low, near to the ground, swiping at the ground with his claws as a cloud of dust and debris rose up, swiping at the earth and clearing it away before him as he pushed himself downwards, headfirst, simply swiping aside any material in his path.

The cloud of dust parted, revealing the deep, gaping tunnel into the ground.

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USMCF HQ

"Burrowing," Plaqueze shouted, "He can burrow! Why the hell didn't we know he could do that?"

"He just came up to attack them," Jill realised. "Son of a…"

Jill's cell phone suddenly rang in her pocket. Seething Jill pulled it out and pressed the 'answer' key.

"What?" She shouted into it.

"Mom," Tina's voice sounded from the other end of the line, speaking quickly so her mother wouldn't hang up right away, "I don't know if this is a bad time, but we think we've got something about Godzilla…"

* * *

Hmm, another fairly long chapter. Well, a quick break from city-stomping action is required now, as next chapter we're introduced to a new, important, and somewhat different character, after which we'll find out just what came out of the meteor, and the truth behind Tina's dream, which may be a little bit surprising. After that, though, it's back to Godzilla doing what he does best (though not until about Chapter 10, sadly. Lots to get through).

All Reviews Welcome.


	7. Warning

More of the story-telling for my readers. Enjoy! Oh, and I forgot to mention: This story's Godzilla is a sort-of "fusion" of the Japanese and American Godzilla. Picture a more flexible, burrowing version of Godzilla 2000, and you're about there.

Godzilla is © Toho. The Gryphon is probably © Toho as well.

* * *

WARNING

Kansas

"Refresh my memory," Plaqueze sighed as the USMCF chopper descended near the old farmhouse, "Godzilla's just burrowed under San Francisco and is currently tunnelling under the US of A, and we're going to some farm somewhere because…?"

"Because the way the kid worked it out, this is where he's going," Mike answered. "And if what's in that photo is a mutation, that could explain why he's coming here."

"The monster's coming to kill other monsters," Plaqueze surmised. "Well _that_ makes a lot of sense…"

"The thing that's easy to forget," Mike explained, "Is that Godzilla's an animal, and most of the mutations that have appeared were neutralised within days of their initial appearance. These may have been around for a while. It could just by territorialism."

"Fighting off intruders," Jill realised.

"Right," Mike nodded, "So it stands to reason that Godzilla will leave once the intruders- these new mutations- are eliminated."

"The new mutations that we know nothing about except that they fly and drink blood," Plaqueze reminded him. "We don't know how widespread they are, what they're capable of…"

"And that's what we're here to find out," Mike answered. "The first attack was right here."

"At the site of a meteorite landing?"

"There's nothing to suggest that the meteorite has anything to do with them. Although it could have drawn them out, maybe unearthed a nest…"

The chopper finally reached the ground, where crowds had gathered around the old farmhouse, with detectives trying to talk down civilians and reporters as scientists gathered around a single spot not far from the farmhouse.

"At least the people around here are cooperating," Jill sighed. "They told us everything they knew about how the victims died."

"Then why are you still mad?" Mike asked as she virtually threw the chopper's door open.

"Because all they knew was that their chests had been bitten into and they'd been sucked dry."

"Which is maddeningly unhelpful," Mike admitted.

Flashing ID's to a police officer, the three USMCF personnel walked towards the site of the meteor landing.

The crater looked, at first glance, relatively shallow; about three feet deep at most, with a single spike of jagged rock poking out from the earth.

"That's just the tip," One of the NASA scientists motioned towards the rock, "There's about another thirty feet of the thing under the ground.

Mike's eyes were suddenly drawn down, towards motion at his feet.

Right in front of them, a small section of Earth suddenly bulged. Tiny chunks of rock fell to the sides as a small sliver of silvery liquid emerged, slithering across the ground.

"Now what do you make of _this_?" Mike asked, leaning down towards the slithering liquid. "Maybe it's an infant, or a larval stage." Setting a silvery case down on the ground, he removed a jar and a pair of tongs, holding it in front of the creature and allowing it to slither its way inside before he quickly screwed down the top. "I'll run some tests on this; see what I can find out." He turned to the NASA scientist, "Do you have a sample of the meteorite?"

"We took a sample," the scientist answered, "But… well…"

"But what?" Plaqueze asked.

"As near as any of our instruments can tell, it… it's not rock."

"What?"

"Doctor Carlhan," The scientist started, "Maybe you should take a look at it yourself."

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Mike looked up from the microscope, his expression one of total amazement.

"It's skin," The scientist explained. "It's purely organic compounds."

"It's an animal?" Mike asked in amazement.

"Not as near as we can tell. It's not alive, but that thing is definitely made from something organic."

"Incredible," Mike breathed. "This thing isn't carbon based, but this is definitely a cell structure. That meteor is _not_ made of rock."

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Mike stepped out of the research tent, clipping the case shut and looking down in puzzlement at the sample.

"Mike?" A female voice suddenly caught him unawares, "Oh my God…"

"Sara," Miki took off his glassed, "What are you doing here?"

"Covering the story," Sara shrugged, "You?"

"Research," Mike admitted.

"What, that bat-thing on the news? I thought you were working on Godzilla."

"Well, we think that these things might be the reason he's coming here; a case of territorialism."

"Godzilla's coming _here_?" Sara gaped, "To Kansas?"

"It's a possibility," Mike admitted. "Sorry, but I need to go…"

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"Well there's not much more we can do here," Plaqueze sighed, "Let's just hope the egghead can tell us something."

"They're more useful than you give them credit for," Jill answered. "Speak of the devil: Where the hell did you go?" She demanded of Mike as he approached them.

"Nowhere," Mike lied, "So what's the plan… what the…?"

Not far from them, a pair of police officers were struggling to hold someone back; by what Jill could see, it was a Japanese man with spiky, black hair in his early '20s.

"Stop!" The man shouted, "Listen to me, it's got to be stopped! It'll kill us all!"

"Alright, buddy," One of the cops instructed him, "Let's all take a deep breath and calm down, huh?"

"You fools!" The man shouted, both to the cops and the USMCF personnel, "You stupid, blind idiots! Don't you see? Don't you feel it?"

"Calm down," The other cop instructed, "Just take it easy, man…"

"You've got to destroy it!" The shouted as the cops restrained him, "Now's our only chance! You have to destroy it now, while you can! It'll kill all of us! It's got to be stopped!" That was the last that was heard of him before the cops finally managed to wrestle him to the ground.

"Nut bag," Plaqueze muttered before climbing into the chopper.

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USMCF HQ, New York City

"Well?" Jill asked as she entered Mike's laboratory.

"Slowly," Mike answered, not looking up from his microscope, "This is maddening! For one thing, I don't recognise any of the cell structures in the meteorite; they don't correspond to anything that's ever been seen before. But as for the live specimen… nothing."

"What do you mean, 'nothing'?" Jill asked.

"There's no cell structure. No nervous system. No organs. When cut, it just seals back up; it's nothing but this… gunk. It's not even alive."

"Right," Jill's tone suddenly became harsh and accusing, "Now that you've explained that, could you possibly shed some light on another problem of ours?"

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Jill threw open the door to her office, storming in with Mike behind her. Plaqueze glared daggers at him from the side of the room, while Jack simply mouthed the word 'busted'.

"I taped this just to show it to you," Jill explained as she hit 'play'.

On the screen was Sara, standing in front of the meteorite landing, saying:

"A USMCF expert has exclusively informed 'Digital Q' news that Godzilla is en route to Kansas, seeking out some other mutated life form in an attempt by the mutated creature to defend its territory."

Jill promptly hit 'pause' and turned to Mike.

"Well?" She demanded, untold venom in her voice.

"Shit…" Miki barely managed to cringe under his breath.

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Under the glow of the lights, with the quiet beeping of the computer, the tiny sample of ooze began to shift, growing against the sides of the Petri dish.

The glass surfaces splintered, cracked and smashed, the ooze expanding and arcing out into the shape of two bat-like wings as it started to take form…

* * *

No, that isn't the Gryphon in the lab, before anyone asks. Digital Q is, by the way, a reference to the news channel in GMK, and the dude at the site being Japanese (he'll be back, by the way) is of course a reference to the Godzilla series itself originating in Japan.

Next Chapter: So just what _are_ these 'bat-things' anyway…?

All Reviews Welcome!


	8. The Husk

And now, to finally show what our "bat-things" are. Enjoy the chapter.

Godzilla is © Toho. The Gryphon is © Toho/TriStar. The idea for the Husks is © TriStar. The name of the Husks is © Me.

* * *

THE HUSK

USMCF HQ

"You'd better help a damn good explanation for this, Carlhan," Plaqueze snarled, "This is confidential information that you told that girlfriend of yours!"

"I didn't tell her…" Mike started, "Well I did, but… it was a private conversation."

"With a reporter," Jill seethed. "I don't believe this… do you have any idea how lucky you are that I don't have the time to have you booted out of here?"

The phone bleeped on Jill's desk, and the receiver was instantly pulled up to Jill's ear.

"What?" She snapped, listening angrily to the other voice, "_What_?"

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Jill, Plaqueze, Jack and Mike all entered the front area of the USMCF building, where several security guards were struggling to hold somebody back. Jill's eyes widened the second she saw who it was.

It was the same person. Without a doubt. The same young spiky-haired Japanese man.

"I have to talk to her," The man shouted, "It's got to be stopped! You blind fools! It's going to kill us all!"

"What in the name of all things sacred is going on here?" Plaqueze demanded.

"This crazy bastard just won't get out of here," One of the guards informed him, "Won't even say who he's looking for."

The man suddenly twisted his arm, shifting his weight and, executing a perfect Judo throw, slammed one of the guards into the floor. Immediately, two more grabbed and restrained his arms behind him.

"Mom?" Tina called as she ran in, "What's going on?"

"You!" The man shouted, glaring at Jill and Tina, "Listen to me! It has to be stopped now! Destroy it now, or you'll doom us all!"

"That's it, lock this psycho up," Plaqueze ordered.

Immediately, the guards slapped a pair of handcuffs onto the man's wrists.

"How did this lunatic get in here?" Jill demanded of the remaining guards, storming over to them.

"Tina," Jack greeted his old friend, "Been looking all over for you."

"Missed my that much?" Tina winked jokingly.

"If only. Come on, you need to see this…"

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New York Museum of Natural History

"And _why_ are we here?" Tina asked as she and Mike walked into the museum.

"Because I ran a little image cross-check with our Batman reject, and we're here because I found something. I couldn't find a picture of the whole thing, and thus, we're here."

They rounded a corner, approaching a glass display case.

"Look familiar?" Jack pointed to the tablet inside.

It was carved on a piece of what looked to be old, rusted metal, covered in unusual runes and markings. In one corner was what looked like a long, jagged chunk of rock, and in another was a vaguely humanoid figure in between a pair of large bat-wings.

"That's it," Tina realised, "That's what I dreamed about. That and…" She pointed to the carving of the rock, "That."

"Now that's more than a little spooky," Jack admitted as he removed a small camera from his pocket, turned off the 'flash' function and took a quick snapshot. "Anyway, I've got a programme that should be able to help translate this. Although there is one more thing you need to know about this thing."

"What's that?"

"That it's nearly five thousand years old."

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USMCF HQ

"I don't believe this," Mike groaned as he approached the lab, Plaqueze beside him.

"Be glad you're under Major Lampard's command," Plaqueze reprimanded him, "I'd have half a mind to lock you _and_ your girlfriend up for…"

"I get it," Mike groaned as he opened the door to the main area of the lab. "Look, I need to check the…"

As soon as Mike opened the door to the next part of the lab, however, he was suddenly thrown back as something struck Plaqueze round the chest hard and fast.

The thing that burst out was 7 feet tall, a wingspan fully twice the length of its body extending to its fullest as it reared up on thin legs ending in sets of talons, a pair of well-built arms reaching out to the sides of its thin, almost skeletal form as a short, snarling face, a mouth wide-open to display three rows of serrated teeth between two bony frills, gave a deafening, monstrous screech. The entire creature was covered in hard, black, sharp scales with spikes all over its body, and a long tail curled up behind it, ending in a pair of curved blades even as it hunched back, ready to strike.

"Jesus Christ," Mike breathed as the creature leaned over him, pulling its head back as its teeth literally turned to point forwards in its mouth.

Before it could strike, something smashed against the side of the creature's head, knocking it sideways to the floor as the offending object smashed to pieces of plastic and circuitry.

Plaqueze stood still, breathing heavily, his heart pounding as he dropped the remains of the computer monitor to the floor.

"What… the… hell… was… that?" Plaqueze breathed slowly.

Mike glanced into his laboratory, seeing the trashed room and the destroyed Petri dish.

"It's the specimen," He realised, "The one we found at the meteor site."

"A little blob of gloop grew into _that_?" Plaqueze replied sceptically.

"Unbelievably, yes." Mike answered. "Don't as me how."

"Well is it dead?"

The creature's dark-red eyes flashed open, the thing giving another screech as it rose to its feet with a flap of its wings.

"No," Mike shook his head as he slammed his palm onto the 'security' button.

Plaqueze instantly levelled his handgun at the monstrosity, squeezing the trigger and firing three rapid shots into the creature. Each shot hit its mark, the stomach, chest and shoulder of the creature forced back by the impacts as pools and trickles of silvery liquid began to ooze out of the wounds, the monster howling in pain before it lashed out with one clawed hand, grabbing Plaqueze's forearm, raising him above the ground as it gave another screech, its jaws parting in readiness to strike…

Before something else slammed into its back, hard and fast and painful. Dropping Plaqueze, it turned as Mike levelled the fire extinguisher again.

Finally, the door to the lab flew open, three armed soldiers moving in as they raised their firearms. The creature turned, screeched and leapt towards them.

It was met with a hail of hard, fast bullets, smashing through its thick skin as the silver ooze sprayed and poured out of it.

Through the hail of bullets, it leapt onto one of the soldiers, pulling him to the ground in the midst of a savage shriek, before digging its fangs into his chest.

The soldier screamed in pain as a disgusting slurping noise started from the creature's mouth. Even as he screamed, the soldier's veins started to blue, then loose all colour as the pink drained from his skin. He finally became silent as his skin wrinkled and withered, finally being dropped to the floor, utterly drained.

The creature, with blood-stained fangs and spread wings, hunched back, then launched forward as the gunfire started again.

By the time it reached the soldiers, it fell to the floor, a pool of the ooze spreading out beneath it.

This time, it did not rise.

"Carlhan…" Plaqueze said quietly, "You'd better find out what the hell that thing is!"

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"Any luck?" Tina asked as she handed Jack a can of soda.

"Getting there," Jack nodded, looking up from the computer, "This thing's like nothing I've ever seen; there are elements of Egyptian, Aztec, every ancient language I've ever heard of and some that I haven't."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning that this is older than any of those civilisations. Wherever this is from, it's from the very dawn of civilisation."

"So, how'd you end up working here?" Tina asked, "No offence, but you don't really act like a computer geek."

"None taken. I'm basically here because I hacked into their system when I was 12. Could've started World War Three."

"And that's supposed to be funny?"

"Guess you had to be there. So what about you? You ever think of doing something like this?"

"Not really," Tina admitted, a hint of sadness in her voice, "My mom does this job, and it's all she ever thinks about…"

The computer suddenly started beeping, attracting their attention.

"Finally," Jack cheered as he started punching keys, "I couldn't get all of it, but by the looks of it, this thing describes some sort of life cycle."

"OK, shoot."

"Right- now this is gonna sound crazy, so remember that I'm just reading what's in front of me," Jack warned, "This thing's starts out as this chunk of rock, which apparently isn't a rock, but its 'travelling hide'. When it lands, it sort of 'births' these flying thing, this calls them 'heralds'. The heralds apparently drink the blood to birth their father."

"Well that makes no sense at all," Tina interrupted.

"I know, but that's what it says. And here's the bad part: Once the destroyer is reborn, it will 'slaughter all things for its sustenance, 'till naught remains on the planet but death, then it becomes the next hide and will seek its next meal'."

"So it eats everything?"

"That's what it says. Must have one hell of an appetite, I'd hate to use the bathroom after this thing."

"Can we be serious here for a second?"

"Yeah. Absolutely." Jack nodded, "Near as I can figure, this thing travels from planet to planet, repeating this process wherever it goes."

"And now it's here?"

"Yeah. And here's the other thing. Mike said that the meteorite in Kansas was organic."

"Like it says," Tina realised. "You don't think…"

"Normally I wouldn't, but I always knew there were aliens out there. Knew it. I can't tell you how many times your Mom's had to stop me hacking into Area 51. But anyway, it turns out there are other samples of similar stuff to that, and the interesting thing is how old they are."

"OK… so how old are they?"

"65 million years." Jack answered hesitantly. "The extinction of the dinosaurs."

"So this thing, if you translated that thing right, came here before and ate the dinosaurs."

"Yup… guess now it's here for desert."

"So what now?"

"Now, I need to tell your Mom and the Doc about this, and you might want to pay a visit to our guest."

"The crazy guy?"

"Well, that's the thing: I'm not sure he's so crazy."

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"This is insane," Mike informed Jack as he circled the corpse of the creature, "I've looked inside this thing, done blood tests… or ooze tests… and this thing's made up entirely of this ooze. There are no organs, no nervous system, no brain… it's impossible for this thing to even be alive. It's not an animal!"

"So what are these?" Jack motioned to what looked like eight silver organs laid out on the desk.

"Sacks," Mike answered, "They're just empty sacks. Here, take a look at this…"

Wearing a pair of white rubber gloves, he pulled open the wound on the creature's chest, showing a cleanly severed tube nestled among the ooze.

"This connects straight to its teeth," Mike explained. "It looks like it just sucks blood and stores it in these sacks."

"To digest it?" Jack guessed, "Like eight stomachs?"

"That's what I thought at first, but this ooze doesn't seem to do anything, it has no way of breaking it down. It's as if they're designed to just gather blood."

"Like drone ants."

"Sort of. But like I said, it's empty. Dead. Mindless. It's just an empty husk waiting to be filled."

"Husks," Jack repeated, "That's a cool name for them. We should call them that."

"This is serious, Jack."

"Yeah, I know… so here's the million dollar question, slick: If these things are gathering up blood, who are they gathering it for?"

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USMCF HQ Holding Area

The Japanese man looked up as, on the other side of the bullet-proof glass, Tina sat down in the chair and looked across at him.

"So…" She started uncertainly, glancing across at the armed guard, "Uh, I'm Tina. Tina Lampard. So… who exactly are you, and why do you want to talk to my Mom?"

"My name is Tomoyuki," The man answered, "And I am not here to find your mother."

"Then… what _are_ you doing here? Because there's kind of a crisis going on…"

"Godzilla is not the enemy," Tomoyuki interrupted, "The enemy is already here. And I came here, Tina… to find _you_."

* * *

Again, a long chapter there. So now we know what the bat-things are, right? There'll be some more explanations in the next chapter, which should answer most of your questions (hopefully).

All Reviews Welcome!


	9. Revelations

Time for some explanations at last, so explanations there shall be. Have fun! Oh, and I apologise for the unimaginative chapter title. I'm bad with titles.

Godzilla is © Toho, the Gryphon is © Toho/TriStar. The idea for the Husks is © TriStar, the name for the Husks is © Me.

* * *

REVELATIONS

USMCF HQ Testing Area

"These things were worse than useless," Plaqueze indicated towards the three remaining NT-20 units.

"We're aware of that, sir," The technician answered, "But we think the problem wasn't with the quantity of the units, but the quantity. We salvaged what was left of them and we found that the compound had absorbed a great deal of energy, and there was at least some delayed reaction in the units exploding."

"In other words?"

"Theoretically, if we used just two of the remaining units, and added the NT-20 compounds from the third, it should be enough."

"Should?"

"We still don't know exactly how much force is behind that atomic flame breath, and we know that there was a temperature of at least one million degrees Celsius before the internal thermometers exploded. It may even be better to construct just a single unit."

"Do it," Plaqueze ordered, the rate that thing's moving, it's less than a day from Kansas City. This time, we're killing it. Dead."

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USMCF HQ Holding Area

"…Me?" Tina repeated, "What?"

"I could tell," Tomoyuki insisted, "You and your mother, you are one of us."

"Say what?" Tina asked disbelievingly, "I don't think we're related…"

"We're not," Tomoyuki answered, "But… you had a dream, didn't you? A few nights ago, when the meteorite landed."

Tina sat still in amazement.

"…How did you know about that?" She finally asked.

"Like you, I have the gift. Your mother had the potential for it, but it was never awakened, but you… you're still young, your gift never faded. So when it arrived, you knew."

"Knew what?" Tina insisted, "Seriously, you are making less than no sense!"

"Listen to me," Tomoyuki pleaded, "There might still be time. We have to destroy it!"

"Destroy what?" Tina found herself shouting, "I have no idea what the hell you're talking about!"

"The Gryphon," Tomoyuki answered, "It's here already, and its heralds have started their work. They'll birth it any day now!"

"Wait a second," Tina recalled, "I heard that before. Something Jack found in a museum. Some sort of carving."

"A record." Tomoyuki answered. "One from five thousand years ago. The last days of one of its victim worlds."

"Its what?"

"It's from Mars."

"Mars?"

"Yes. It went there five millennia ago. The story goes that there was a grand civilisation there, far beyond what humankind is right now. Imagine it: The sky a brilliant red, vast forests of reflecting red leaves, and the citadels, all within a great dome, entire buildings hovering in the air. They had eliminated the need for competition and war and violence…"

"You're talking about aliens," Tina interrupted, "And you expect me to believe this?"

"If you read the carving, you know it said that the Gryphon travels from world to world. If you sensed it, you would have seen them."

"I saw…" Tina recalled, "Things. Birds, people, fish, but they were different…"

"They were of other worlds. The countless worlds where all life was devoured. Just like the people of Mars. Their world was glorious, and peaceful… so when it came, they were unprepared. They could even sense the evil of it, but they thought it could be calmed, or reasoned with… and that cost them their lives, and their world. Just like it always does, the Gryphon birthed its heralds, they took the blood of the creatures of the planet, and they gave it back to their father."

"They gave it blood?"

"Yes," Tomoyuki answered, "Just as they're doing here. It's the DNA that they seek; they give it back to the form of the Gryphon, sleeping inside the meteorite, where it takes the best it can find in the blood, and uses it to form a body that it uses to consume the planet."

"Yeah… Jack said it could be a breeding cycle."

"Not quite," Tomoyuki answered, "A _feeding_ cycle. The Gryphon not only kills and destroys, but it _revels_ in it. Then it flies away from the world it has killed, and the skin of its body forms a meteor, using the last of the DNA it took to form a new set of heralds. Then it travels through space, always seeking something new to destroy. The Gryphon is evil… it is evil in its purest form."

They both sat still and silent.

"You believe me?" Tomoyuki asked.

"No."

"Then why are you still listening?" He fixed her eyes with his gaze, "You know this is true, but you can't accept it because you were taught otherwise your whole life."

"Well even if it _is_ true," Tina answered, "That doesn't tell me why I dreamed about it."

"Even after a genocide, there can be survivors," Tomoyuki answered. "Some escaped the death of the Martian Race, and a few fled to the nearest world, one where a civilisation was just starting out. They landed here, at the beginning of human civilisation, and some were even mistaken for Gods. The Egyptians, the Aztecs, the Mayans… we showed them how to build, how to organise… our leaders, Ra, Osiris, Quetzalcoatl… their technology was mistaken for magic, and they were treated as all-powerful."

"So there are… Martians… on Earth."

"No. Not anymore, at least. They mingled with humans, interbred… those who possessed the gift would pass it on, but over the generations their history was forgotten, and as empires and kingdoms fell, so was the Gryphon, and so was the gift."

"Ok, hold on," Tina shook her head, "What's this about the 'gift'?"

"Around a third of the people of Mars possessed the gift. The power to see into the minds of other things, to use their minds to affect things and objects around them. They were what we would call 'psychics'. But the power was forgotten and lost, and those with Martian blood who did possess the gift never learned how to use it, and now there are only a handful on this planet that possess it. But you were still young, and the gift was still fresh in you. When it sensed the arrival of evil, of the Gryphon, then it awakened."

"And you know this… how?"

"There were still some who remembered. Families where the story was written down and passed on from one generation to the next. Mine was one of them. I possessed the gift, and it was nurtured, but it was never powerful enough. I could only try and warn them to destroy the Gryphon while it was vulnerable. But then I sensed that your mother possessed Martian Blood, but her potential for the gift was gone. So I came to this city, where I sensed someone else who had the gift. That was you."

Tina leaned back in her chair, taking a deep breath and processing what she'd just heard."

"I'm a Martian?"

"Part Martian. And only an extremely small part. Still, it's enough to have the gift."

"I'm a part-alien psychic?"

"Descended from aliens. So are hundreds of people, but they won't have the gift, and they will most likely never know. I'd hoped to give you the pendant…"

"Whoa, whoa," Tina cut him off, "Pendant? Where'd that come from?"

"It's a relic from the Martian civilisation. They'll have locked it up somewhere, but it was used by Martians who possessed the gift to amplify it, helping them move objects with the power of their will alone. With it, it is possible that you might destroy the Gryphon."

"That's why he's coming," Tina suddenly realised. "Jack said that the stuff from that meteor was found sixty-file million years ago."

"That's right. The end of the dinosaurs."

"And Godzilla's a dinosaur," Tina realised. "He's coming here to stop the Gryphon; to stop it doing what it did back then. He's saving us…"

"Godzilla… he could destroy the Gryphon," Tomoyuki answered, "But if we wait until then, it may be too late. The Gryphon must be destroyed."

"Well I can't exactly go straight to Kansas from here; they've already started evacuating it and sending troops in. And no offence, but…"

"You don't believe me," Tomoyuki realised. "I can hardly blame you, but… go to the room where they put the pendant. Wear it, and see what happens."

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"So did you get any sense out of him?" Jack asked he attached the USB chord to the side of the keypad from his PDA.

"Not much," Tina answered, "Well maybe. I need to check something."

"Great, now you're not making any sense either," Jack shrugged, punching some keys on his PDA.

"So what's that thing for?" Tina asked, referring to the device.

"They won't tell me the pass codes. But honestly, I think your Mom knows I'll figure them out anyway." A succession of beeps sounded from the keypad, "See? It's like she's not even trying."

The door slid open, allowing the two teens inside, where Jack approached a filing cabinet, inserted a key and unlocked it.

"So how'd you get the key?" Tina asked.

"Same way I got us in here," Jack shrugged as he took out a small case, "This it?"

"Yeah," Tina answered as she opened it, "I just have to check something…"

Inside the case, on the end of a silver chain, was a metal pendant of eight perfectly symmetrical lines, joined at the centre, all within a small, gold circle, in the centre of which sat a perfectly circular jewel, divided into seven pieces of emerald, sapphire, diamond, pearl, amethyst, topaz, and ruby.

"Fancy," Jack breathed, "Wait a second, did you just get me to help you steal something?"

"I told you," Tina answered, "It's like a test…"

She slipped the pendant over her neck, and immediately, she felt it grow warm, an alien heat seeming to spread into her from the heart of the jewel.

She suddenly inhaled, her hair rising on a breeze that didn't exist, before Jack suddenly rose from his feet and was thrown back as if by some unseen force, slamming painfully into one of the filing cabinets.

"Jack," Tina gasped, "Sorry, I… Shit, are you OK?"

"Nothing broken," Jack answered as he pushed himself up, "So, uh… what in hell's kitchen was that?"

* * *

Shorter chapter there, and the last part was particularly tough. Anyway, that should explain just about everything. Next Chapter, the big guy makes his welcome return…

All Reviews Welcome!


	10. Kansas City

OK, sorry for not updating the last few days. I started up a new fic, but I really wasn't satisfied with it so… here we are. Chapter 10, and to celebrate hitting double figures, the welcome return of the big green dude we all know and love. Have fun, and don't forget to R&R, aye?

Godzilla is © Toho. The Gryphon is © TriStar. The idea for the Husks is © TriStar. The name for the Husks is © Me.

* * *

KANSAS CITY

USMCF HQ

"Take a look," Jack pointed towards the screen, showing the small object that moved steadily across in a straight line, "This was taken a couple of days ago by our opposite number in England. See, it moves in a straight line, then before it's even close enough for Earth's gravity to take effect…" As he pointed, the object changed its direction. "It turned. And a few minutes later, it lands in Kansas City… which, of course, leads to nonsense like we've been seeing."

"The thing is, it all makes sense," Tina explained, "Even if it doesn't sound possible, it explains everything. My dream, those things, Godzilla coming here…"

"…You throwing me across a room with your brain…"

"Yeah. But it actually makes sense. This thing wiped out the dinosaurs, and Godzilla's a dinosaur. So maybe because of that, he wants to kill the Gryphon, or maybe it's just a territorial thing…"

"He's coming for this Gryphon thing," Jack realised, "And he doesn't care who or what gets in his way. And if that's true… Plaqueze and your Mom are about to send their men, armed to the teeth, to try and kill the wrong mutant."

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"The upgrades to the NT-20 Units were successful," Plaqueze nodded, "Just one of them, and it's mounted with D-3 warheads. Plus we've got plenty of extra firepower to back it up. One way or another, the lizard dies."

"Good," Jill replied coldly, "Give the order to fire as soon as he's above ground."

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Kansas City

Choppers, tanks, MRLS launchers and personnel carriers rolled through the streets of Kansas City, backed by a single vehicle that dwarfed all of them, the huge metal compartment on top of it opening with a mechanical 'whir' to reveal the shining mass of the artificial diamond mirror within. Soldiers armed with STINGER launchers and bazookas poured out as the choppers formed a hanging line above the rows of machinery below.

Miles away, at the USMCF Headquarters in New York, Jill, Miki and Plaqueze watched with grim, concerned faces.

The seconds ticked by slowly, just as they had done in San Francisco.

The ground shook, jerking suddenly, as a crack formed in the middle of the wide street. The crack splintered outwards, a spider web pattern spreading out as the Earth was torn away beneath. Finally, it bulged, a huge mound of Earth rising up as though a hill was growing out of the ground, chunks of concrete and solid rock falling to the ground as the enormous shape rose up.

The last of the Earth fell away, a low growl escaping Godzilla's throat as he stood to his full height, his eyes turned down to regard the creatures below.

Just as had been planned, the NT-20 unit rolled forward, the mirror turning upwards as, from the side, soldiers flipped switches on massive floodlights, shining them directly towards the huge mirror. The light reflected dazzlingly, shining straight up into Godzilla's eyes. Godzilla gave an angry hiss, attempting to turn his head out of the path of the blinding light.

"This plan better work, Carlhan," Plaqueze stated coldly.

"It will," Miki reassured him, "We just need to provoke him into using the breath."

From each side of the NT-20 unit emerged a pair of launchers, boosters flaring to life as two D-3 missiles shot from each side, shooting up into the air, blasting straight into Godzilla's neck as the metallic clamps activated immediately. The drills whirred to life as Godzilla gave an angry snarl. He remembered these annoying things.

Godzilla rose a hand to swat away the bothersome things, but as soon as his claw reached them, they exploded in huge clouds of fire and smoke, Godzilla giving an enraged snarl. Clearly these little things had not learned their lesson before.

Before the cloud even parted, the wave of blue light shot through Godzilla, through his body and eyes in a second, and surged out of his mouth as a surge of fire; a brief burst, more of a fireball as it shot forward, straight into the mirror atop the NT-20.

Everyone held their breath as the sparks danced across the surface. Godzilla turned his head to the side in puzzlement.

Then, the burst of energy shot back out of the mirror, clearing the distance to Godzilla in a second to strike him in the face with all the awesome force it started with. It burst into an explosion of blue flame and dark-black smoke, Godzilla staggering sideways from both the force of the blast, and the unexpectedness of the strike. Godzilla's mammoth form slammed into the side of a building, the structure giving way instantly as Godzilla fell into it debris raining into the street as Godzilla ended with most of his upper body inside the structure.

"Fire!"

A wave of missiles shot forward, colliding with the burned side of Godzilla's face and each exploding in huge fireballs, entirely consuming the building as Godzilla howled his fury.

The endless succession of strikes finally ceased, a wall of flame and smoke shrouding Godzilla and the damaged building. A low growl sounded from the other side, as Godzilla voiced his disdain. He had been taken unawares by a creature weaker than him. He had underestimated his enemy.

He would not make that mistake again.

The smoke was forced to the side as Godzilla charged forward with a thunderous roar, swinging his head to one side to bite clean through the nearest chopper, the machine bursting into flames as he thundered to a stop before the NT-20, leaned down, pulled back his head and, with a monstrous snarl, snapped his jaws forward into the vehicle, razor-sharp teeth smashing through the steel hull as the NT-20 was lifted from the ground. Another wave of energy shot up Godzilla's spinal plates before the surge of fire shot from his mouth, blasting clear through the machine in his jaws, the NT-20 exploding in a ball of fire.

"That ain't good," Plaqueze noted, his eyes wide with dread.

Even as a wave of missiles and gunfire blasted forth, Godzilla stampeded forward, his foot slamming into the middle of the mass of metal as he spun round, his tail swinging through the grouping of machines and sending them flying to the side. Swinging his head round again, he bit into one of the choppers as it flew up away from him, smashing it to pieces in his teeth.

Pulling one arm back, Godzilla lashed out, his claws slicing through steel and Earth as the remaining vehicles were tossed away like coins through the air, crashing onto the ground and each other with the splintering noise of grating metal, some of them exploding in bursts of flame.

Then Godzilla stood, among pits of fire and columns of smoke.

Pulling back his head, he let loose another roar of triumph. Victory was his once again.

And now, nothing would keep him from his foe.

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USMCF HQ

"Shit…" Was all Jill could manage to say.

"What the hell now?" Plaqueze demanded of the room full of officers and technicians, "Well?"

"How the hell is he surviving all this?" Mike whispered quietly to himself.

"Major," One of the technicians called to Jill, "We have the Pentagon on the line. They're demanding to take charge of the operation."

"What?" Jill snapped.

"They're saying 'total assignment failure'." The technician listened to a further message, "They're taking command of the situation, according to them, 'by any means necessary'."

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"You think he's in Kansas City yet?" Tina asked as she and Jack bolted down the hallway.

"How do I know?" Jack answered, "You're the psychic. Apparently. Besides, they're not exactly gonna believe us."

Tina suddenly stopped, a red-hot pain flaring up in her head as she staggered, leaning against the wall for support.

"Tina?" Jack asked, "You OK?"

"Headache," Tina managed, before feeling the heat of the pendant against her chest, "No… something's wrong…"

In a flash of light, she saw Jack and the corridor disappear from her sight, replaced with a view of a darkened landscape, the crater in front of her and, in the middle, the tip of the meteorite.

With a great rustling of wings, a mass of dark shapes suddenly descended, flying past and over each other, all swooping down to the meteor with deafening screeches.

The Husks were gathering.

Then, something shook her shoulder, and she was back in the corridor, leaned against the wall and gasping for breath.

"What was that?" Jack asked urgently, "Tina?"

Tina inhaled deeply, feeling her hands shaking as she lifted the pendant, still feeling it glowing hot in her hands as her eyes filled with fear.

"It's too late," She whispered fearfully, "It's here. The Gryphon's awake!"

* * *

You heard her, folks! Next Chapter: Meet the Gryphon!

Oh and by the way, since I feel this story's gone pretty alright so far (hope I didn't just jinx it), I've got an idea for a sequel. It's based on the idea of the upcoming game _Godzilla Unleashed_, with the slight difference that it'll feature all-new Kaiju I've come up with, as well as the two titular stars of this fic returning. Should I go for it? In any case, I'll finish this one first.

All Reviews Welcome!


	11. The Nightmare Awakens

I think you've waited long enough for this guy to show up. Thus, I introduce the Gryphon. As a side-note, you can probably expect daily updates to this story until Thursday. Why Thursday? I'm away then, and I plan to leave you with a nice cliff-hanger when I do. Enjoy the chapter.

Godzilla is © Toho. The Gryphon is © Tristar. The Husks are © Tristar but the name is © Me. Yay, something is © Me!

* * *

THE NIGHTMARE AWAKENS

Kansas

They all came together as one, each digging away at the Earth to force their way down alongside the meteorite, hurling out chunks of Earth as chunks of its surface liquefied, dissolving into silver ooze and forming tiny gateways into the mass of liquid within.

The Husks grabbed onto the sides of the Unearthed meteor, one perching on the top, as they all applied their fanged mouths to the holes in the surface.

Each of them heaved, their torsos undulating as if they were vomiting, blood pouring from the sacks within their bodies, through their mouths until the contents of blood were emptied into the core of the meteorite.

After less than thirty seconds, their job was done. The Husks fell back and down, collapsing to the floor as each gave a last spasm of life.

Their hides dried out instantly, the ooze inside them pouring out through their mouths, arcing up in the air to flow back into the meteorite. The scaly bodies of the Husks collapsed, now every bit as empty as their name implied.

A few seconds ticked by, the meteorite surrounded by the dried-out corpses of the Husks.

Then, the sides of the meteorite splintered, fracturing as pieces started to fall away. It burst open, a huge mass of the silver ooze spilling out, rolling over itself as it started to converge and bulge, forming into one, solid mass.

It came together as a vast sphere of ooze, columns spreading beneath it to lift it up as they started to solidify. Changing in texture and shape, they started to form four legs, while another shaft of ooze spread out behind and curled downward, a smaller bulge at the front and two others spreading out from the back. The central sphere took shape, forming the clear outlines of a muscular chest and torso. The front bulge took on the shape of a vaguely mammalian head, and the two bulges on its back spread out into spikes, membranes of the ooze filling the gaps to form a pair of demonic wings.

The resulting shape remained still for a moment as its colouring changed, retching in a sudden spasm and snapping its newly-formed jaws at empty air as systems and organs formed inside it.

Its skin was a dull brown, a thick, armoured hide covering a lean, muscular form atop four crouched legs, each with massive, curved talons. Its mammalian head was cropped with a pair of black horns, and two rows of small spikes ran down its back and tail, which ended in a bulging point comprised not of bone, but of muscle.

It raised its head into the air, giving a deep, growling bellow that sounded like a tiger's roar mixed with the shriek of a bat.

The Gryphon was reborn again.

Swooping its wings downward as it leapt up, the Gryphon swept forward, curving its path with a gust of wind, sending the nearby farmhouse splintering in a shower of jagged wood and chunks of Earth. It rose into the air, passing across the moon as it gave another rumbling roar.

With a massive flap of its wings, the Gryphon shot forward across the air, rising into the clouds.

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Outskirts of Kansas City

Godzilla stopped in his tracks, remaining suddenly still amongst buildings that reached only his waist, sniffing at the air.

He swung his head round, turning his body to follow. He could not see his prey, but the scent told him all he needed to know. It was moving.

With a low growl, Godzilla began to move again, this time in a different direction, following the trail of the Gryphon's scent. As he walked forward, he broke into a run, thundering across streets and clear through buildings that thundered before the force of the impact.

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USMCF HQ

"What the hell is that thing?" Jill demanded of the room as she watched the blip moved across the digitised map.

"It's moving at Mach 0.7," A technician reported, "Mother of God…"

"I want to know what this thing is ten minutes ago," Jill ordered, "And somebody tell me where Godzilla's going, or I'll fire the first son of…"

Jill's cell phone bleeped again, the Major irritably pulling it out of her pocket and holding it to her ear.

"What?" She demanded.

"Jill?" Jack's voice asked, "Jack. Hey, Jack and Jill. Never noticed that…"

"What is it?"

"Well… did you just pick up something moving away from Kansas really, really fast?"

"…How do you know about that?" Jill asked tentatively.

"I think you, me, Tina, and our new guest need to talk."

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Northeast of Kansas City

The two F-18 fighters cut through the air, coming up behind the huge mass that moved away beneath the clouds below them, forming a wave that pushed the masses of cloud aside.

"Attention unidentified aircraft," One of them announced over a radio frequency, "You are ordered to identify yourself immediately and slow your airspeed to…"

The mass suddenly jerked to a stop, changing direction to swoop around them.

"Unidentified craft, you have ten seconds to comply or we will open fire!"

A huge, dark shape rose from the sky behind them, swooping over them with a deafening rush of air.

"What th… Fire!"

A missile shot from each craft, shooting forward towards the Gryphon. With a flap of its wings, the Gryphon shot down into the clouds, the missiles colliding and exploding in a ball of fire.

The Gryphon shot upwards, snatching one of the craft in its teeth as it burst into flames, its tail whipping up to smash clean through the other.

Effortlessly, the Gryphon changed direction and shot Westward.

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USMCF HQ

"Where's it going?" Plaqueze demanded.

"West," Somebody shouted, "Towards… Sir, it's heading straight for Indianapolis!"

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"You'd better be able to tell me something, Jack," Jill declared harshly.

"Oh, we've got a story for you alright," Tina answered for him, "This guy knows all about this thing, he even knew about the meteorite and the Husks."

"How?" Jill asked, clearly surprised.

"You'd never believe it in a million years," Jack answered, "But in case you or the higher-ups have some daring, last-minute secret weapon tucked away somewhere, now's the time to mention it."

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Indianapolis, Indiana

The lights of the city skyline were like a sea of lights against the night sky, streets filled with people and their own comings and goings, the noise of traffic and bustling movement.

Someone might as well have sounded a dinner bell.

The Gryphon shot downwards with a murderous growl, barring its teeth and extending its wings.

The street full of people looked up, wide-eyed, and suddenly screamed as one.

The Gryphon's wings cut into the sides of the buildings to either side, cutting through them like knifes through butter, as it swung its head upwards and forwards and took in a mouthful of fleeing civilians and solid ground.

With a sadistic glee, the Gryphon swung its tail round, smashing it into the side of a tower beside it. The force of the impact smashed clear through the side, mortar and glass raining down in a shower of destruction as the side of the upper building fell down with nothing to support it, the entire building keeling over as the Gryphon swooped up, snarling in excitement. Oh, how it loved to bring destruction like this.

Swooping down the street, the Gryphon hung its front legs down, its claws slicing down through ground, vehicles, cables and gas pipes and leaving trails of burning explosions in its wake, the entire street behind it bursting into flames. Shooting forward, it slammed into a building, shooting straight through in a burst of debris as it unfolded its wings, slamming down in the street before leaping up, pouncing onto the side of a building as the structure before it folded like paper.

Turning to the side, it shot its head forward, biting into the side of a building, before giving a disgusting snarl and dropping the chewed, saliva-soaked chunk of building. It growled irritably, infuriated at getting nothing but a mouthful of tasteless metal. It would have to be sure to feed selectively.

But first, it would vent its frustration in the way it loved to: with glorious destruction.

* * *

There we have it: The evil, evil Gryphon with a big, big appetite and a short, short temper. Hope he seemed evil enough, as this is the most city-destruction we've seen so far. Next Chapter: What's the USMCF gonna do now that they've got two antisocial beasties on the loose?

All Reviews Welcome!


	12. State of Emergency

Well, we've just had two consecutive chapters of Monster mayhem, so I just need to wind things down, mainly to emphasize what'll be happening next chapter. Oh yeah, and this story will now be about 18 chapters.

All I own in this story is the name for the Husks. Now that's an easier way to disclaim things.

* * *

STATE OF EMERGENCY

USMCF HQ

"Let me get this straight," Jill sighed, exasperated, as she sat with the bullet proof glass between her and Tomoyuki, "You're saying this thing is from space."

"Yes," Tomoyuki insisted, "Think about it. The attacks started, and Godzilla began moving towards America, right after the meteorite landed; the same meteorite that Godzilla has been heading towards, and the same meteorite that's been at the centre of the attacks. Can you really believe that this is coincidence?"

"Even if I believed it," Jill answered, "How could you possibly know this?"

"That's the part you wouldn't believe in a million years," Jake spoke up.

"If you do know what this thing is," Jill continued, "Then tell me this: How do we get rid of it?"

"You don't," Tomoyuki answered gravely, "There's no weapon made by man capable of killing the Gryphon. Only _he_ can kill it."

"He?" Jill repeated.

"Godzilla. Maybe… just maybe… he can kill the Gryphon."

"What?" Jill snapped, "What the hell are you talking about? Godzilla's at least as much of a menace as that thing."

"No he's not," A voice spoke up from the door.

"You're not supposed to be in here, Tina," Was all that Jill said in the way of a reply, "Jack take her outside or something."

"I can find my own way," Tina answered. "Did you even listen to what I said? He's not the enemy."

"Tina," Jill snapped, "This is bad enough without you contradicting me. I told you a hundred times what the monster did…"

"And it's all you ever tell me," Tina interrupted angrily. "He only attacked anyone because they attacked him first. What happened to Dad was an accident, I accepted with it, and I did what you always said Dad would want: I got on with my life." She looked her mother in the eye, "Why can't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jill demanded as Tina turned and ran out of the room. She turned, angrily slamming her fist down on the desk. "I don't have time for this," She gritted her teeth and stormed out.

A few awkward seconds ticked by.

"What was that about?" Tomoyuki asked, to which Jack replied with a shrug.

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All eyes in the Command Room were focused solely on the screen. Rendered in pixelated horror, the heart of Indianapolis was a sea of fire, sirens and screams, the sides of buildings torn open, skyscrapers splintered into piles of debris, and the streets transformed into rivers of burning destruction.

"We've got a death toll in the tens of thousands," Plaqueze reported grimly, "It took that thing less than ten minutes to do this. There was no way we'd have been able to organise a counterattack in that time." He turned to regard Jill, who stood with her hands clenched around the iron bar, watching the screen with a fearful expression. "There was nothing we could have done, Jill."

"There was," Jill whispered to herself. "We were just too busy to know about it."

"What?"

"What's the situation now?" Jill asked.

"This new thing's flying toward Detroit. Thanks to the stop it made, Godzilla's gaining on it. Looks like he'll catch up to it a ways south of Detroit. The Pentagon still wants command over the Godzilla situation."

"Tell the Pentagon," Jill answered, "And use these exact words: Butt the hell out of our business and just let us do our freaking jobs without blocking us at every turn. And while you're at it, what's the status on the NT-20s?"

"Ready to go," Plaqueze answered, "We should have another unit constructed and ready to put in place by the time they reach Detroit, which should be tomorrow evening."

"Get units in place by then or I'll fire the first person I see," Jill ordered to the room.

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Mike leaned against the wall, looking up at the early morning sky from the front of the USMCF building.

"Mike?" A voice called to him. He turned his head to see Sara, a remorseful look on her face, walking uncertainly towards him.

"Sara." He greeted her with just that word.

"Look," Sara began, "About the…"

"What you did was unforgivable," Mike interrupted her.

"I was just doing my job," Sara insisted, "I heard news and I reported it."

"That the only reason you showed up here in the first place?" Mike asked, "Go ahead. Convince me our relationship isn't based on scoops. I told you something confidential, and…"

"Should you have told me?" Sara asked.

"N… I don't have time for this," Mike answered, frustrated, "Just… just go, Sara."

He re-entered the building, slamming the door behind him.

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"Ten thousand, seven hundred and fifty," Jack reported solemnly, "That's what we've got from that attack."

"Jesus," Tina whispered, "I can't believe I blew this so bad…"

"It wasn't your fault," Jack reassured her casually, "It's not like we could've done much to stop our hungry, hungry friend from waking up."

"Will you stop that?" Tina suddenly snapped.

"Stop what?"

"That!" Tina shouted, "Just… this isn't funny, Jack! Ten thousand people died in one night. What part of that sounds like a joke?"

"It's not," Jack answered, suddenly becoming angry for the first time Tina had known of since she met him, "This is just… this is me, alright? This is how I deal with stuff like this, because the only other thing I could do is think about what's happening, and how many people died, and how it all could have been stopped, and…" He looked away from her, "I just can't take it."

A long, awkward silence followed.

"Wow," Tina admitted, "I never…"

"It's alright," Jack sighed, "It's like Tomoyuki said: The only chance we've got now is Godzilla. He's the only one who can stop that thing."

"Who says we can't help?" Tina suddenly spoke up, her eyes alight with inspiration.

"Um… the fact that we're two tiny, teenage humans and they're two 180-foot monsters with severe anger management issues?"

"Yeah, but I've got this," Tina held up the pendant, "This amps ups those freaky… power… things, right?"

"Tina, there used to be a whole planet of Martians, and lots of them could do what you can do and, no offence, they were probably a lot better at it. For the most part, you're just a normal, very-much-human girl."

"Normal. You know just what to say to a girl, don't you?" Tina smiled sweetly.

"Hey, didn't you hear me just now? _I_ make the jokes."

"Anyway, this planet's got Godzilla. If these powers can home in on the Gryphon, maybe they can do the same with Godzilla."

"And that would accomplish…?" Jack prompted.

"Maybe it can help him out. Give him some… I dunno… backup."

"Tina, this plan makes less than no sense," Jack warned her. "You don't even know how to use that thing!"

"I'm going," Tina answered as she started walking away, "Are you coming, or not?"

"God, your Mom is going to skin me alive for this," Jack sighed as he followed her out.

* * *

Truth be told, that chapter was primarily filler with a smidgeon of character development that'll continue chapter after next. I honestly enjoy writing those little scenes with Jack and Tina, not because I'm trying to imply something between them, but because they're just fun to write.

Next Chapter: What you've been waiting for ever since that incident in Antarctica way back in Chapter 1... MONSTER SMACKDOWN!!!

All Reviews Welcome!


	13. Clash of the Titans

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the event you've all been waiting for: Round 1 of… Godzilla Vs The Gryphon!!!

Only the name for the Husks is © Me. Nothing else.

* * *

CLASH OF THE TITANS

Detroit, Michigan

The sky grew dark over Detroit, now long-since evacuated, the eerily still surface of the river flawlessly reflecting the darkened, starry sky.

On both sides of the river, rows of tanks, MRLS launchers and a single NT-20 Unit rolled into place, rows of attack choppers circling in the air.

"We're set," Plaqueze reported to Jill, "This thing… what are we calling it?"

"The Gryphon," Jill answered.

"The Gryphon oughta be here any minute. Oh, and by the way, we picked up a couple of stowaways."

"Oh Christ," Jill groaned, "Please don't tell me…"

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"Hi," Jack and Tina both smiled weakly as Jill stormed into the tent.

"Tina," Jill seethed, "The second everyone's back is turned, I swear…"

"Actually," Jack spoke up, "I think she's got something here. Long story short… you might want to not shoot at Godzilla."

"You snuck onto a Military transport," Jill snarled, "To say _that_?"

"Actually, I'm allowed here," Jack pointed out, "Since I _do_ work for the same people as you."

"Just listen to us," Tina insisted, "Seriously, Godzilla's not…"

"Don't even start, young lady," Jill snapped, "God, I thought you had _some_ sense. What do you think your father would say…"

"He'd say _something_ to me," Tina muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing," Tina answered.

"I don't believe this…" Jill sighed, leaning on the table, "You won't be leaving the house for _months_ after this, Tina. I can't even think what I'm going to do to you for this." She turned straight to Jack, "And you! You helped her do this?"

"Um…" Jack cringed, "Yes. Yes I did."

Jill gritted her teeth and made some inarticulate noise of rage.

"Just stay the hell in here," She snarled, "You are dead, Tina!"

She stormed out, leaving the two teens alone.

"Well I hate to say 'I told you so'…" Jack started.

"Shut up," Tina snapped.

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"We've got visual," Someone reported.

The dark shape moved across the sky, circling across the city with a low growl before, its wings open, it began gliding downwards, almost skimming the tops of towers.

"Fire!" Plaqueze ordered.

A wave of missiles shot forth with deafening noise, arcing up through the air as the Gryphon descended, swooping through the air even as some of the missiles exploded in burning fireballs against its hide. A pair of D-3's latched onto its skin, the drills whirring to life. Evidently surprised, the Gryphon turned its head to snap at the projectiles, only for them to explode, the blasts of the explosions mingling with the Gryphon's roar of fury, before it finally slammed down into the river, its wings stretching outwards as it bellowed its fury at the rows of tanks…

Only for its roar to be almost drowned out by another, a thunderous noise of unfathomable rage of power that turned every head, including the Gryphon, to its source.

The surface of the river bugled, white froth churning over as the enormous shape rose from the water, jagged spikes, charcoal-grey skin and the thunderous, ear-splitting roar. Godzilla's gaze turned round, his eyes blazing with fury.

He remembered this creature… the one that had torn apart his world, his pack, his young, the creature that had robbed him of his world. Its look was different, but the scent… this was it. The same reek of evil and death.

"What's with him?" Jack asked outside the tent.

"I think he recognises it," Tina answered, looking down at the pendant and feeling the heat spread from it again. "So that means…"

The Gryphon gave an deep, rumbling snarl, hunching back and glaring up at this new creature. What manner of foolish creature would dare to challenge it?

Godzilla gave another growl, stepping forward in clear challenge.

With a single flap of its wings, the Gryphon shot upward, the shockwave of its momentum sending water cascading in all directions as it slammed into Godzilla with insurmountable force, the impact knocking Godzilla backwards as he snarled furiously, digging his heels into the riverbed.

Godzilla's reaction was instantaneous. Grabbing the Gryphon by the shoulders, he spun round, kicking up a spray of surf and, shifting his weight, hurled the Gryphon across him into the water with an enormous splash of water and foam, the Gryphon snarling furiously, raising its claws to scratch at Godzilla's chest, cutting through thick scales and leaving thick, red trails.

Godzilla gave a snarl more of rage an anger. His enemy had drawn first blood.

As the Gryphon rolled over, pushing itself up, Godzilla raised one foot, pointed the bottom of it at the Gryphon and kicked forward, slamming his foot into the side of the Gryphon's head. The space demon snarled savagely, spinning round on one leg to leap up in a spray of water like a bullet of fangs and teeth. Even as it leapt up, Godzilla spun to the side, dodging the attack before charging forward, ploughing the Gryphon down into the water as the two beasts snarled viciously.

Even to the trained Military men, the sight of the two great behemoths locked in savage battle was nothing short of awe-inspiring. For that reason, all were silent as the two beasts unleashed their brutal fury.

The Gryphon leapt up, its fangs biting into Godzilla's arm as Godzilla gave a snarl of pain and anger. Heaving himself forward, Godzilla lunged down, the swing of his arm carrying the Gryphon clean over him through the air with impossible force and momentum, crashing into the side of the river in clouds of water and debris, growling angrily as it shook its head. Never before had its strength been matched by a single foe! It had underestimated this enemy, allowed itself to be taken by surprise by its strength.

Leaning down, Godzilla grabbed onto one of the Gryphon's wings, sank his teeth into the membrane and, with a single twist of his hips, pulled it away with a clean sickening, crunching tearing noise, the Gryphon howling in pain as the wing was torn messily from its body, gleaming, red-and-silver blood oozing from the ripped edge. The wave of energy shot up Godzilla's back and, drowning out the Gryphon's painful screech, a stream of blue fire erupted from his mouth, the wing bursting into flames as the blast carried into the air.

Falling back, the Gryphon's screech turned into an angry snarl. From the jagged, bleeding, gaping wound where the base of its wing had been, a red-silver sprout suddenly jutted out, forking out into the structure of a wing as the membrane stretched out across it. In seconds, a newly formed wing had taken shape, flapping down alongside its brother as the Gryphon snarled viciously, Godzilla stepping around the beast tentatively.

The Gryphon spun round, its tail swinging to strike Godzilla around the face, pulling back to jut forward and jab its pointed end into Godzilla's stomach. Godzilla suddenly howled in pain, stepping backwards and doubling over, his jaws snapping at empty air.

"What the hell was that?" Plaqueze shouted.

"Must be some kind of poison," Mike answered.

Shaking his head, Godzilla reared up, his spinal plates flashing blue before another stream of fire surged forward, just as the Gryphon turned to face him. The flames shot into the Gryphon's face, the demon howling furiously as the attack burned at its face.

Above the roars of the two warring beasts, Jill's voice suddenly shouted to the unit:

"Open Fire!"

A hail of missiles shot forth from the MRLS launchers, striking the sides of the monsters as they bellowed furiously.

"Mom!" Tina shouted, darting forward past the blockade (most of whom, fortunately, were still agape watching the battling monsters). "No!"

"Tina, get the hell back!" Jill shouted, "What's wrong with…"

"Stop!" Tina screamed as a pair of soldiers held her back, "Godzilla's not the enemy!"

The Gryphon suddenly turned, sniffing at the air even through the fire and smoke. This scent, the sense of this tiny being, there was something familiar…

Hunching back, the Gryphon caught sight of Tina, leaping forward as all eyes turned towards the snarling beast.

In the midst of its momentum, however, the Gryphon was yanked back as Godzilla grabbed its tail, slamming it back down into the water.

As Godzilla turned towards his attackers, the Gryphon fell back, opening its wings and, with a single boost, rising into the air.

This enemy was clearly a powerful one. It would need to regroup, be sure it was at its strongest. Continuing this fight could serve no further purpose, it decided. And anyway, perhaps these attackers would weaken it sufficiently…

With that, the Gryphon rose into the air and started to pass out of sight.

"Don't look now, but the Griffin or whatever the hell it is just made a break for it!" Plaqueze shouted.

"Then concentrate on Godzilla!" Jill ordered.

"No!" Tina yelled, "Will you listen…"

Before she could finish, Godzilla suddenly stampeded forward with a furious snarl.

"Move!" Jill shouted, before everyone moved at once. In the midst of the confusion, Godzilla spun round, snapping his jaws down and smashing rows of military machinery to pieces in his grip. Spinning round, a burst of flame shot from his mouth, consuming another assembly of tanks and launchers, before he turned and, lifting his foot, ploughed it into the side of the NT-20.

As one of the tanks fell through the air, a smaller shape leapt out of its way, skidding across the ground.

With one more angry bellow, Godzilla turned his gaze upwards, sniffing at the air, before leaping back into the river in a spray of surf, instantly becoming a dark shape moving away down the river.

"Jesus!" Jill shouted, "Everyone still breathing?"

"Define breathing," Jack groaned, wiping a layer of blackened ash off of his face. "Looks like I got a date with the decontamination room. We have a decontamination room, right?"

"Mike!" Plaqueze shouted, "You might wanna see this!"

"What?" Mike asked as he dashed over to him, "What is… Oh my…"

There, on the ground, covered in ash with a trail of blood down the side of her face, her clothes torn and her camera laying beside her, was Sara.

"Oh God…" Mike gasped, "Oh my God, Sara!"

"Shit," Tina breathed as she and Jack kneeled down next to her, "Is she…"

"She's alive," Mike shook as he checked her pulse.

"What the hell was she doing here?" Jill demanded. "Medic!"

All anyone could do was watch in quiet fear as Sara was lifted into the back of the medical truck.

"In case you were wondering," Jack turned to Plaqueze, "This did not at all go well."

* * *

Whew. Long chapter there. Lot happening. Particularly difficult, due to mild writer's block plus the fact that I went and sliced my freaking thumb open earlier. Anyway, we have one more human-oriented chapter next, after which there's just pure giant monster violence.

All Reviews Welcome.


	14. Prepare for War

OK, this'll probably be our last real human-centric chapter, as the climactic battle approaches fast. So, enjoy!

Only the name for the Husks is © Me.

* * *

PREPARE FOR WAR

USMCF HQ, New York, Infirmary

"She got pretty lucky," The doctor explained, "If that thing had been falling just a little faster…"

"I know," Mike shook. "Will she be alright?"

"Hopefully. She managed to escape without many serious injuries."

Mike stood silently by the bed as the doctor walked out.

"God…" He finally breathed, "Sara, I…"

He turned away, walking out of the room filled with guilt and remorse.

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Holding Area

"Alright," Jill began as she paced around the cell, "You know about this thing. How do we kill it?"

"You can't," Tomoyuki repeated the phrase he'd spoken five times in as many minutes, "It's the leviathan."

"What?" Plaqueze demanded.

"The book of Revelations," Tomoyuki replied, "The people of Mars…"

"Don't give me that bullshit," Plaqueze snapped.

"…They came here thousands of years ago," Tomoyuki continued as if Plaqueze hadn't spoken, "Some who had the gift foresaw what would happen: The leviathan and the Behemoth."

"Godzilla and the Gryphon?" Jill demanded.

"The creatures of the sea and the land. The great sea beyond what you know; the void beyond. Space. And the land; your land. The Earth. And you know what will happen."

"Revelations," Jill realised, "The Apocalypse."

"No," Tomoyuki answered, "Not the end. It isn't yet, it isn't now. It can be stopped if the Gryphon is stopped."

"How?" Plaqeuze shouted.

"Godzilla," Tomoyuki answered. "The leviathan and the behemoth will make war at the end of the world."

"I haven't got time for this shit," Jill snapped, turning to the door and leaving.

"Piece of advice," Plaqueze glared down at Tomoyuki, "Either you tell us what we want to know, or… well, we'll find out one way or another."

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"You OK?" Tina asked as Jack stepped into the room, a can of soda in each of his hands.

"Yup," Jack nodded as he threw a can to her, "Didn't get a big dose of radiation, so at least I got off luckier than…" He trailed off.

"Yeah," Tina answered, "I still don't know what the hell I was thinking. I guess…"

"Hold on," Jack interrupted as he saw Mike dart past, "Hey, Mike. What's up?"

"Sara," Mike gasped, "They just called me. She's awake!"

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Infirmary

"I'm sorry, Mike," Sara said, shame-faced, "For what I did, for putting you through this…"

"It's alright," Mike answered, "You were doing your job, and I… I was just being stupid, and neurotic, and…"

"Not that this isn't a touching scene," Jack interrupted, "But what were you doing in Detroit?"

"I snuck past the blockade," Sara admitted, "When they said that thing was heading there, the editors sent me there, probably why they sent me to report on Godzilla in the first place."

"Because of your relationship with Mike," Jack realised, "Assholes."

"Not that I managed to get any recording done," Sara explained, "My camera went on the fritz just when it went for the troops."

Jack suddenly looked up.

"When the Gryphon jumped at the troops?" He realised, before adding under his breath: "When it went after Tina. Tina," He turned to her, "I think I've got something."

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"See, what if it was you?" Jack explained as they entered the room full of computers, "The interference with the camera. Those Martian… people… things… they'd have had stuff way past video recorders, so maybe if you were sending out some kind of signal, it could have interfered with it."

"And that helps?" Tina asked sceptically.

"Yeah," Jack answered, "Because if it's a signal, maybe we can boost it. Do something with it. Increase what that pendant already did for you."

"By transmitting it," Tina realised, "You're planning to hook me up to a transmitter?"

"No, just the pendant, and have you touching the pendant. Anything that gives Godzilla an advantage over the Gryphon."

"Least you're rooting for him," Tina shrugged.

"I always side with the home team," Jack beamed. "Maybe Tomoyuki can tell us something useful."

"My mom and Plaqueze are talking with him," Tina answered, "They're in the cell."

"With a surveillance camera?"

"Yeah."

"Oh well," Jack said with a sly grin, "If only we had a computer genius who could hack into the cameras…"

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The screen flickered to life, showing a clear view from inside the cell.

"Oh my God," Tina gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "They're…"

On the screen, Tomoyuki doubled over in pain as, unseen thanks to the camera view, a pair of soldiers jabbed something into the back of his shoulders.

"They're torturing him," Jack scowled. "They think he knows something about how to deal with the Gryphon."

"That's insane," Tina insisted, "If he knew, he'd tell them."

"They're acting out of fear," Jack answered. "Fear makes people do crazy things."

"I'm gonna be sick," Tina stated, as Jack considerately turned off the screen.

The door behind them suddenly burst open, Jill storming in.

"You and I talk," She addressed Tina, "Now."

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"What?" Tina asked harshly.

"What?" Jill parroted, "How about putting that in a sentence? Like: What in God's name is wrong with you, Tina?"

"What's wrong with me?" Tina repeated, "What about you?"

"Excuse me?"

"This would be over right now if you'd actually listened to me," Tina answered.

"Tina--"

"The Gryphon would be dead if you hadn't told your men to interfere." Tina shouted, "But no. You couldn't have stopped. You just wanted Godzilla dead. That's all you want."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Like I said: After what happened to Dad, I moved on. But you didn't. All you can think about is killing Godzilla, like you think it'll bring him back."

"Listen, young lady…"

"No. _You_ listen! You're obsessed, mom! Maybe you can't see it, but I, and Jack and Mike and everyone else can. You don't care what happens as long as you get to kill Godzilla, even if the Gryphon kills everyone and everything else."

"That thing killed good men," Jill answered just as loudly, "Not just your father, but all those…"

"And that only happened because you provoked him!" Tina yelled back, "If you hadn't been so obsessed, if you'd listened, if you'd taken the warnings you'd gotten, this would be long over!"

"Do you even care about your…"

"I know what happened to Dad!" Jill screamed, "And you know something? I'm _glad_ he's not here! Do you know what he'd think if he could see what you've turned into, mom? You think this is what he'd have wanted? I already lost one of my parents, but because you couldn't let go of it, I lost two!"

There was a long, slow silence.

"What do you mean by that?" Jill asked.

"You don't care about anything except your precious revenge," Tina answered, her voice changing from angry to sad, "Including me."

"Tina…"

"Just leave me alone," Tina snapped, "Do you even know what Plaqueze is doing? He's having Tomoyuki tortured! _Tortured_!"

"What?" Jill gasped, "He… torture?"

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"You men," Jill barked as she swung the door of the cell open, "Out of here. Now!"

"Tomoyuki!" Tina gasped, helping him to his feet, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I… I couldn't do anything…"

"It's alright," Tomoyuki breathed, "He can still help us. He's our last hope now."

"Easy, man," Jack told him as he and Tina helped him back onto the bed.

"Plaqueze," Jill seethed, "When I get my hands on him…"

"Time and a place, Jill," Jack interrupted. "What's going on with the Gryphon?"

"It's heading here," Jill answered. "The Pentagon finally listened to us and allowed the city to be evacuated."

"Politics," Jack shrugged. "Hollywood for ugly people."

"The Gryphon's less than three hours away," Jill explained. "We don't have a hope in hell of evacuating the whole city in that time."

"OK, look, we have a plan we wanted to run by the alien-thingy-guy," Jack started.

"Do it," Jill answered, "Whatever you have to do. Both of you. And Tina…" She looked to her daughter, who refused to meet her gaze, "I'm sorry," She whispered before leaving.

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"Plaqueze!" Jill roared as she burst into the command room. "Torture? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"As opposed to what?" Plaqueze retorted, "I don't know if you noticed, but we've got a hell of situation. Or did you not see that thing grow it's wing back?"

"It's a reptilian trait," Mike answered from beside him, "The ability to regenerate a lost limb. It's just been massively sped up, possibly adapted into something more effective."

"So we can't kill it?"

"Not necessarily. We'd just need something that caused instant death."

"Great," Plaqueze seethed, "Just brilliant. And what about the tail?"

"Probably some kind of poison. Godzilla has the same sort of regenerative abilities as the Gryphon, we've seen it in cell samples for years."

"Gryphon's ETA 2 hours 30 minutes," Someone reported.

"I want a defence up against this thing now," Jill shouted, "Plaqueze, don't think I am nearly finished with this."

Ignoring her, Plaqueze stepped forward.

"You have your orders!" He barked to the room, "Ladies and Gentlemen… we are at war!"

* * *

Now _that_ was a hard chapter to write. Still, from here on in it's just pure giant monster butt-kicking. Oh yeah, and the torture scene was inspired by _Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer_.

All Reviews Welcome!


	15. The Gryphon Descends

OK: Time to begin our climactic showdown. Enjoy the violence today, because tomorrow I'm off to visit family in Wales over the weekend, so no more 'til at least Monday. To be cruel, I'll leave you with a nice cliff hanger.

Only the name of the Husks is © Me.

* * *

THE GRYPHON DESCENDS

New York

All voices were hushed in the command centre of USMCF HQ, all eyes turned toward the large central screen.

"Any second now…" Jill whispered. Outside, the streets were empty except for the occasional vehicle and the USMCF vehicles rolling into place, including the last NT-20 unit. Squadrons of F-18 craft circled over the city.

Finally, the massive, dark shape flew into view, swooping across the skies to swerve down towards the city.

"Target sighted!" A USMCF technician shouted, "Ready to fire!"

The Gryphon snarled down at the gatherings of metal creatures in the streets below, circling around the highest point it could find- the Empire State Building. Perching itself on top, claws digging into the top of the structure, it gave a vicious roar, stretching out its wings as it sat atop the building.

"Open fire!" Jill ordered, "Take that thing down!"

Three F-18s swooped forward, the missiles falling from their wings and flaring to life, blasting forwards to strike the Gryphon in the face, the creature snarling furiously.

Leaping downwards, the Gryphon rose with a flap of its wings, the glass surfaces atop the world's most magnificent skyscraper exploding into showers of shimmering shards as the Gryphon rose up, teeth and tail lashing out at once to smash one of the planes to pieces, sending the other veering away across the skies until it fell, crashing into the street below in a burning explosion. Even as the third craft fired a pair of missiles, the Gryphon swooped up at it, one missile striking as the other arced through the air, slamming into the side of the Empire State Building in a burst of flame as, with a swing of its clawed paw, the Gryphon smashed the F-18 to burning pieces.

"That was the goddamn Empire State Building," Plaqueze breathed. "Jesus Christ…"

The Gryphon shot downward, its claws hung down as it aimed right for the USMCF forces.

A hail of missiles shot forth, D-3s colliding with its hide and digging in, the drills spinning as the other missiles burst into flame, the Gryphon snarling furiously as it hovered to a stop, a gust of wind from its wings sending a cluster of tanks flying back through the air, crashing into other rows of machinery even as the shells and missiles of the other weapons shot forth, exploding against its skin and consuming the Gryphon in fire.

The snarling demon fell to the ground, swinging its head round to knock another cluster of attackers away.

A D-3 shot into its throat, whirring to life as the Gryphon turned with a rumbling roar, exploding as the Gryphon leapt forward, crushing the launcher underfoot.

Two Apache Choppers descended behind it, waves of missile shooting forth as the Gryphon flapped its huge wings, shooting up and smashing the choppers to pieces in its jaws, rising up with a satisfied snarl before it took off down the street, its wings extended. The wings sliced clear through the sides of buildings as the Gryphon flew forwards through explosions and showers of debris, roaring in glee before it ascended, two more F-18s catching its tail.

Rocketing higher and higher into the air, the Gryphon rose far above the rooftops of New York, the tiny-looking island city extending in all directions around it, before it shot down, its extended claws smashing clean through the two pursuing jets.

Swooping over the rooftops, the Gryphon allows its four clawed feet to hang down, smashing through rooftops as it flew forwards, buildings crumbling into showers of mortar and steel or bursting into flames, glass and cement raining down into the streets as the Gryphon descended, turning sideways so that its wing cut into the streets below, the street bursting into flame as the wing sliced through a gas main.

With a wave of shells, a company of tanks approached from behind it, their efforts doing no more than annoying the beast. Leaping forth, the Gryphon was upon them, all of them crushed underfoot as, effortlessly, it took to the air once again.

As another hail of missiles shot at it from behind, the Gryphon flew straight forward, blasting into Times Square before it hit the ground, whirling around as its tail smashed clean through the Flat Iron Building, the monument crumbling as the Gryphon's tail cut a clear path through it, even as the missiles collided with it.

Suddenly, waves of firepower assailed it from all directions, the Gryphon howling furiously amidst the attack. MRLS launchers closed in from four different directions, the Gryphon swatting angrily at the attacking missiles.

"We've got it pinned in Times Square," a technician reported, "Harriers are closing in…"

The Gryphon suddenly shot up, the missiles bypassing it and colliding with two of the vehicles, consuming them in fire as the Gryphon dropped down, its tail flicking its third attacker away effortlessly, before flying up and descending on the fourth, easily crushing it.

Rising into the air again, the Gryphon arced over the rooftops, turning its attention suddenly, downwards, sniffing at the air as it stopped, hovering in midair for a moment, before changing its direction.

"It's heading right here," A technician yelled, "…Mach 0.7!"

"Evacuate the building!" Jill ordered, "Now!"

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The alarms blared to life, red light and deafening sirens filling the entire building.

"It's coming here," Jack realised. "No way in hell it's that smart."

"It's me," Tina realised, Jack stopping and standing still at the words. "Just like when it jumped at the troops in Detroit. It's here for me."

"You and Tomoyuki," Jack realised fearfully. "Come on!"

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The door to Tomoyuki's cell swung open, the Japanese man looking up as Tina and Jack burst into the room.

"It's coming," Tina announced.

"For us," Tomoyuki answered. "That's why it came to New York. You should have left me in here."

"Can we skip the noble-hero-sacrifice stuff?" Jack asked hurriedly, "If anything, this is a good time to start that plan we mentioned before."

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As the personnel poured out of the USMCF HQ Building, the Gryphon suddenly shot down out of the sky, crashing down into the street, folding out its wings as it hunched down with a low snarl.

Before anyone could react, the Gryphon swiped them aside with its paw, their terrified screams mixing with its savage roars as it advanced on the building, and its prey.

"And," Jack breathed as he, Tomoyuki and Tina reached the entrance, "We… are… screwed."

Turning its eyes down, the Gryphon's eyes lit up with murderous glee…

Before, at the end of the street, the ground suddenly bulged, shaking to the sides as the street splintered, falling away as the massive shape rose up beneath it, the mountain of earth falling to the ground as that thunderous, echoing roar sounded, full of power and unimaginable rage.

Godzilla's orange eyes blazed their fury as he stood to his full height, glaring down at the Gryphon with a malevolent snarl.

"Godzilla," Tina whispered. "He's here."

The Gryphon turned to Godzilla, snarling angrily as the earth-born monster took a step forward.

"Know what?" Jack spoke up, "Mortal danger aside: This is gonna be good!"

At the two ends of the long New York street, the two beasts glared their hatred.

The battle was on.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed that, because it's all you're getting until at least Monday. MWAHAHAHAHA!!! But when I get back: THERE SHALL BE VIOLENCE!!!

All Reviews Welcome.


	16. War of the Giants

And I'm back from Wales. Had a fortunate accident while there, actually: My cousins and I couldn't get into the Simpsons movie, so we want and saw Transformers instead. Awesome flick. Anyway, enjoy the scrap!

Only the name for the Husks is © Me.

* * *

WAR OF THE GIANTS

The two titans gave one more snarl, each one hunched back and tensed.

Finally, they each charged forward, thundering down the street towards each other as Godzilla let loose a thunderous roar. Once they cleared half the distance, the Gryphon leapt forth, wings open and claws out, snarling viciously. Seconds before it would have impacted, Godzilla hunched down, crouching his legs, and leapt up to plough straight into the Gryphon, carrying it back through the air before they both slammed down into the street, the tarmac below splintering before the force of the impact.

Godzilla rose instantly, the Gryphon turning and instantly leaping up even as Godzilla spun to the side. As it passed, however, the Gryphon flicked its tail sideways, slamming its side into Godzilla's cheek as the mighty reptile gave a furious hiss.

"Do we have any units left?" Jill demanded inside the USMCF building, "Anything at all? I don't care if it's a private with a peashooter!"

"About one unit of tanks and there's an incomplete NT-20 in the subbasement levels." Plaqueze answered.

"Then order them here!" Jill ordered, "Drive them away from this building, for God's sake!"

"Uh… Mom?" Tina spoke up, "That might be a little hard…"

Seconds earlier, the Gryphon had spun round, slamming itself into Godzilla. Just as Tina had spoken, Godzilla had staggered back, his spinal plates stabbing into the side of the USMCF building. Shaking his head and snarling angrily, he charged forward just as the Gryphon prepared for another jump, tackling it to the ground. The effect of this was that his tail arc and sliced clear through one wall of the building.

"Everybody out!" Jill shouted, "Now!"

Even as they darted out, a huge chunk of rubble fell straight down, falling towards them as Tina looked up, gasping in sudden fear.

The pendant started to glow, and Tina felt a sudden heat all through her body. The rubble stopped, exploding into a million pieces; harmless pebbles raining down to the ground.

"Tina," Jill gasped, "How did you…?"

"Long story, no time," Tina gasped, "C'mon!"

Godzilla pulled back one hand, swinging his clawed fingers in front of him to slice through the flesh of the Gryphon's stomach. Hissing furiously, the Gryphon jabbed its tail upwards, stabbing into Godzilla's midsection as Godzilla snarled, before giving a painful rumble and falling back. Already, the deep gashes on the Gryphon's stomach began to heal, the wounds visible shrinking and disappearing in seconds.

"He's poisoned," Mike realised. "He should heal…"

"Mike, did that… thing…"

"Husk," Jack informed her.

"Husk," Jill nodded, "…tell you anything?"

"Well the Husk was comprised of that ooze from the meteorite," Mike recalled, "The Gryphon's had DNA injected, but it should still be made of the same basic compound."

"Did it tell you anything _helpful_?" Jack asked.

"Maybe intense heat," Mike reasoned, "Dry it out."

The poison in his system already healed, Godzilla leaned to the side, avoiding another stab from the Gryphon's tail, before grabbing it, shifting one foot back and heaving, hurling the Gryphon over his shoulder to slam it into another building, the entire structure giving way and crumbling as the Gryphon fell clear through it, reducing it to a pile of jagged rubble.

"Air strike," Plaqueze reasoned, "Napalm the sucker."

"Napalm?" Jill snapped, "In the middle of New York? We'll trash the place!"

"Yeah, that's _completely_ different from what they're doing," Tina replied sarcastically.

The Gryphon spun round, opened its wings and leap upwards, knocking Godzilla backwards before circling in the air, shooting downwards and crashing into Godzilla's side, ploughing him into the ground.

"Do it," Jill sighed. "We can't move out the NT-20; even if the computers are intact, they won't be online after that. Automated procedure."

"My specialty," Jack pulled a palmtop computer out of his jacket.

"It won't be connected. You're gonna hack the system?" Plaqueze pointed out.

"Been doing it since I was 12. But we need the server online, or this thing's just an excessively expensive lump of metal."

The Gryphon perched itself on top of Godzilla, snarling down directly into his face…

Before a stream of brilliant blue flame shot forth, striking the Gryphon's face as it screeched in pain, howling furiously as it fell back to the ground with the flames burning at its face, Godzilla righting himself with a low growl.

"All available units move in," Jill ordered into her radio, "Fire on only the Gryphon. Repeat: Fire on only the Gryphon."

"Thanks," Jill whispered from beside her.

"Just don't make me regret this."

Another wave of energy shot up Godzilla's back, blasting forth in a stream of fire that slammed into the Gryphon's side, carrying it away into the side of a building before it slumped to the ground, cutting a deep gash into the structure.

As the Gryphon snarled painfully, the deep, bleeding burns on its side began to shrivel and shrink, replaced with healthy, uninjured skin.

Nevertheless, this enemy was powerful, and if these attacks continued, it would face destruction. Although this was not something for which it was wholly unprepared…

Godzilla stepped forward, giving another growl as his spinal plates flashed bright blue…

The Gryphon suddenly leapt up, striking Godzilla and sinking its fangs into his neck, the stream of blue fire shooting away into the air, colliding with the side of a tower in a burst of fire and rubble, as Godzilla stepped back with a painful snarl.

A disgusting, sucking noise started from the Gryphon's mouth, slurping greedily as Godzilla bellowed in pain and rage and the blood flowed from Godzilla's veins and into the Gryphon.

"It's drinking his blood?" Tina gasped fearfully.

"No," Mike realised, even more worried, "It's assimilating it!"

Grabbing hold of the Gryphon's back, Godzilla finally yanked the demon away, taking shreds of his own flesh with it. Godzilla dropped the creature, putting a hand to his neck as the Gryphon rose to its feet, coughing in what looked like a sudden fit. On its shoulders, its skin rose and parted to reveal a small number of jagged, forked spikes.

"He won't be able to heal as quickly if he's missing enough of his blood," Mike realised. "He's weakened."

The Gryphon's spasms ceased, the creature turning to the staggering Godzilla with a wicked glare in its evil eyes. With a flash of its newfound spikes, a blast of blue fire shot from its mouth, striking Godzilla in the face and sending him falling into the side of an apartment building, cutting into the side as another blast struck him in the chest, knocking him the rest of the way down as the building crumbled.

"No!" Tina cried out, shaking with fear as the Gryphon approached, turning sideways.

The Gryphon's spiked tail jabbed into Godzilla's stomach, pulling out and stabbing in another time, then finally a third, as Godzilla howled in pain; a massive dose of poison when he was weakened.

Pulling back its head, the Gryphon opened its wings and shot up into the air, shooting forth a stream of fire and bathing Godzilla in flame.

As the flames parted, Godzilla lay amongst the rubble, his chest rising and falling slowly and shakily.

"He's not dead," Jill desperately reassured his daughter, "Just knocked out…"

The Gryphon turned, its gaze travelling down to regard the humans, focusing on Tina and Tomoyuki. A wave of energy shot up its back…

Three streams of burning smoke suddenly shot through the air, striking the side of the Gryphon's face. Taken by surprise, the creature spun round, the stream of fire shooting forward to consume the MRLS launcher as the tanks rolled forth behind it.

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"Got it!" Jack shouted as he pushed another cable into the Modem, before opening the palmtop. "Come on now… Jill?" He spoke into the radio, "We're online. Call out the NT-20 at your leisure…" He turned to the window, seeing the Gryphon advance on the firing tanks and launchers past the unconscious Godzilla. "…Though now might be a good time. Oh and I need to talk to Tina."

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Tina took the radio, lifting it to her ear.

"That plan," Jack informed her, "This seems like a good time."

"You think we can do it?" Tina asked, turning to Tomoyuki.

"Bring him round?" Tomoyuki asked, "Well we haven't got much to lose…"

The Gryphon pounced forwards, crushing the tanks beneath it before it closed its jaws around the MRLS, a streak of blue fire shooting out as the remains of the launcher fell to the street.

"Airstrike's on the way," Plaqueze informed Jill, "ETA 15 minutes. The NT-20's rolling out right now."

"Fifteen minutes?" Jill shouted.

"The nearest air base used everything they have when that thing showed up here," Plaqueze answered. "Nothing I can do about it; hell, the Pentagon wants all units to withdraw immediately!"

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In the closed-off garage behind the USMCF building, a pneumatic lift rose from the subbasement, carrying with it the massive vehicle mounted with the shimmering mirror.

Turning on the spot, the NT-20 rolled out.

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"Ready?" Tomoyuki asked, holding up the radio. "Just let the gift work on its own, and it'll transmit through this and every other device in this city that's capable of broadcasting. You can do it, Tina."

Nodding, Tina closed her eyes, holding the pendant in her hands, focusing on the warmth…

And then, she felt like she was spinning rising into the air on an unseen vortex, the world slipping away to be replaced by this… feeling, the feeling of a great matrix of energy, and there she was, in the centre of it all…

The Gryphon stopped, turning, sensing what was happening. It broke into a run, shooting towards them, before a pair of missiles shot towards it.

The D-3s clamped onto the Gryphon's chest, whirring to life before exploding, the beast turning as the NT-20 rolled forward.

The newly formed spikes on the Gryphon's back flashed bright blue, the stream of fire shot forth…

And shot straight back, slamming into the Gryphon even as the uncompleted mirror fractured.

Shaking its burned head even as the burn-marks healed, the Gryphon snarled furiously, leaping forward and stabbing its tail clean through the NT-20, hurling it to the side and sending it crashing into the side of a building in a burst of fire.

Tina's eyes snapped open as she felt herself return to her own body, with a sudden shock like that which follows suddenly waking from a dream.

"That's all I can do," She gasped, "I don't know if it worked…"

The Gryphon turned, advancing slowly upon them both, its jaws dripping with saliva as smoke rose from its nostrils, its spinal plates glowing.

Suddenly, from one side, behind Tina and Tomoyuki, there was a great rumbling, something rising through a layer of rubble.

In the middle of a cloud of dust, a row of glowing spinal plates told them all they would need to know.

* * *

Another long chapter… and quite a lot of violence there. As for that server/modem thing: I don't know much about computers, so if there's a mistake there, it's because I have no clue what I'm talking about. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and you can hopefully see how everything sort of came together there.

Next Chapter: The Final Battle… Need I say any more?

All Reviews Welcome!


	17. Victory

Well, here's what you've been waiting for: The next-to-last chapter. So enjoy, I guess.

Only the name for the Husks is © Me.

* * *

VICTORY

Pushing himself up on powerful arms, Godzilla gave a low rumble, standing amidst the wrecked building, surrounded by fire and smoke, his orange eyes burning through it all straight at the Gryphon.

The Gryphon looked up to face him, the two smaller creatures instantly forgotten in the face of this, literally, much bigger prize.

The Gryphon was the first to charge, leaping into the air and extending its wings to swoop forward. Godzilla, however, was ready: He ducked under the approaching creature, his razor-sharp spinal plates slicing into its stomach, staining them with shining blood as the Gryphon screeched in pain. Godzilla's tail flicked up, smacking into the space beast's lower jaw and sending it tumbling through the air, crashing down into the street.

The Gryphon rose, turned and hunched down, its tail held forwards as it shot forth, the tail jabbing forwards towards Godzilla's neck. At the last second, however, Godzilla rose his clawed hands, grabbing onto the tail, swinging sideways to carry the Gryphon, tearing clean through the buildings to the side as the Gryphon crashed down to the ground, Godzilla bellowing his rage.

"Tina!" Jill's voice shouted over the radio, "Get back here _now_! That air strike's coming any second!"

The Gryphon stood up on all fours, thrashing wildly in Godzilla's vicelike grip. Holding the tail in his hands, Godzilla parted his jaws, clamped them on the end of the tail, and yanked his head up, slicing through flesh and bone and ripping the end of the tail clean off.

Even as the jagged stump began to heal, the Gryphon turned and looked up, its back flashing bright blue before the streak of fire shot into Godzilla's face, knocking him back as he fell back, staggering to one side as the Gryphon's back plates flashed a second time.

But this time, Godzilla was ready. A wave of energy shot through his own body, blasting out of his mouth to strike the oncoming attack from the Gryphon. The two blasts of energy collided, Godzilla's blast shooting forth, consuming the Gryphon's attack and blasting clear into its mouth, hurling the Gryphon away and sending it slamming into the street.

"Wow," Tina breathed, "Dangerous, I know, but still… wow…"

"Come on," Tomoyuki pulled her by the arm, "This isn't the time to stay and watch!"

As the Gryphon rose, internal and external burns rapidly healing, it happened to catch sight of the two tiny creatures as they ran past it, wicked sadism flaring to life in its black soul.

Parting its wings, the Gryphon unfolded its wings and swung forward, slicing through the side of the building next to it, Tina and Tomoyuki looking up in sudden horror.

In a split second, Godzilla recognised that scent. Like the other little creatures, but different somehow, he'd smelled it the first time he fought this thing, and again when… yes, it was her, the one who had awakened him…

Acting on pure animalistic instinct, Godzilla charged forward, ducking under the Gryphon.

Then, a clawed, charcoal-grey hand was holding the falling rubble as the two humans stared up, agape.

"My God…" Tomoyuki breathed.

"He saved us," Tina breathed. "Godzilla…" She looked up, Godzilla's blazing eyes turning down to regard her, "…Thank you…"

A second later, a mass of evil savagery ploughed into Godzilla, driving him into the side of the building with frenzied howls. Godzilla spun round, the building crumbling to fall atop the struggling beasts as he grabbed hold of the Gryphon's outstretched arm.

Swinging round as the two humans fled, Godzilla hurled the Gryphon to the ground, sank his claws into the flesh of its arm, and pulled with all his awesome strength. The Gryphon howled in pain, and then, with a sickening, tearing, snapping sound, the entire arm was wrenched off, thrown into the street as Godzilla gave an echoing roar.

The Gryphon rose on its hind legs, the ragged stump already growing outwards to form a new limb, the wave of energy shooting through it ready to strike…

Before Godzilla charged straight into it, carrying it down the street in thundering footsteps, smashing through buildings that parted in a sea of debris before their awesome momentum.

And then, the last of the buildings fell, the beasts smashing into an elevated street on the waterfront of New York, the entire structure giving way, falling to the side as the Gryphon shifted its weight round, slamming Godzilla sideways, the disused warehouse beneath him crushed before the impact.

The two beasts rose, each bellowing their fury as they stared each other down, the skyline of New York behind them.

The Gryphon shot forth with a flap of its wings, slamming into Godzilla, carrying him backwards to smash through a mass of metal girders as Godzilla's head slammed down into the middle lanes of the George Washington Bridge.

The Gryphon leapt up, slamming onto Godzilla as a wave of energy shot up its back once more…

Before a stream of fire erupted from Godzilla's maw, striking the Gryphon's face and carrying it up into the air, the beast slamming into the ground as Godzilla rose, another stream of flame erupting to douse the Gryphon in fire.

Leaning down, Godzilla grabbed the burning creature's shoulders with one hand and the back of its head with the other, claws digging into flesh as he invested all his strength in the single effort.

With its last breath, the Gryphon howled with rage, and pain, and horror, knowing what was coming. The creature that had never once known fear had now discovered terror.

With a disgusting tear, the Gryphon's head was ripped from its shoulders, shock and horror still frozen into its fading black eyes as Godzilla dropped it to the ground, a last burst of fire erupting to cover the Gryphon's body, the entire corpse bursting into blue and orange fire.

Pulling his head back, Godzilla dug his heels into the ground and gave a tremendous, earth-shaking roar of victory.

* * *

The end of that fight, with the bridge and all, refers to GINO of course. And I forgot to mention, thanks to GodzillaGuy for inspiring the whole Godzilla-wanting-revenge angle.

Next up is the final chapter. It's been one hell of a ride.

All Reviews Welcome!


	18. King of the Monsters

Here we are: The final chapter of this story. Thanks to everybody who's reviewed throughout this story, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I have to say, I probably feel more satisfied with this story than any of my past works. As always, All Reviews are Welcome.

Godzilla is © Toho. The Gryphon is © TriStar. The concept of the Husks is © TriStar. The name for the Husks is © Me.

* * *

KING OF THE MONSTERS

Godzilla stood at the end of the George Washington Bridge, surrounded by flames, smoke, the rubble of crushed buildings, twisted girders and the decapitated, flaming corpse of the Gryphon.

He had won; his revenge was his, but it had not been easy. Even though he was beginning to heal already, the battle had been fierce, and his injuries had been great. He was weakened, and most of all, he was tired.

Tina and Tomoyuki ran through the streets behind Godzilla, across the rubble that remained in the middle of the buildings they had ploughed through, arriving before the bridge as Godzilla turned to the water.

"He did it," Tina gasped, relief and exhilaration starting to flow through her as she broke into a cheer, "_Yes_! He did it!"

"He won," Tomoyuki whispered, remaining calm even as the smile widened on his face, "Eons of terror… and now it's over."

"Tina!" Jill's voice interrupted them suddenly. Tina turned to see Jill running towards her, with Jack, Plaqueze and Mike behind her. Instead of the shouting contest Tina had been expecting, Jill pulled her daughter into a hug so tight that she was sure it would give her back problems in later life. "Oh, thank God…"

"Guess who knew who won," Jack grinned as he saw Godzilla walking away from the Gryphon's burning remains, "Man that's cool."

"The dead alien?" Mike asked.

"No, him," Jack pointed to Godzilla, "He just fought the mother of all fights, trashed a huge chunk of New York- which the tax payers will probably have to pay for -and now he's just walking away like nothing even happened!"

The sound of three roaring engines suddenly sounded overhead, the three F-22 fighter craft equipped with their napalm warheads closing in on the weakened Godzilla.

"_Now_ they show up," Plaqueze grunted.

"Major," A voice crackled over Jill's radio, "You've been given command of the operation. Permission to fire?"

"You can't," Tina pleaded, "Mom, he saved me. Deliberately, and he left himself exposed doing it. He saved me, he saved Tomoyuki, he saved everybody!"

Jill didn't answer, watching Godzilla as he continued to move away, now waist-deep in water. She lifted the radio to her ear and spoke:

"Withdraw."

"…Major?"

"That's an order. Withdraw."

"Roger that," The pilot answered. "Alpha 2 and 3, withdraw."

The three craft changed direction in the air, turning away from Godzilla as he moved out into the water.

"Thank you," Tina smiled.

"Guess I owe it…" Jill bit her touch, "I owe _him_ that much."

"Never though I'd see the day," Mike chuckled.

"Neither did I," Jill admitted, "I guess things like this put things in perspective. Make you consider things. Make you… move on, I suppose."

"Very deep," Jack smiled, "Now if nobody minds, I'm gonna go home and sleep for a very long time."

"What about him?" Plaqueze asked, pointing to the wake forming where Godzilla was vanishing between the waves.

"Well," Jill smiled, "I suppose we can leave him be unless he decides to cause trouble again."

"Tina?" Mike asked, "You OK?"

"Yeah," Tina answered, finally looking away from the horizon, "Just…"

"You've been through a lot," Tomoyuki told her sympathetically. "I suppose it's time I got back to Japan. My family will be wanting to know whether I'm still in one piece."

"Well I've got a girlfriend to get back together with," Mike chimed in. "See you tomorrow… in the office that just got trashed by giant monsters."

"Guess we'd better get started fixing it," Jill offered up, the entire group turning away from the waterfront. Only Tina remained, taking another glance at the spot where Godzilla had been.

"'Sup?" Jack asked, turning back and walking over to her.

"Just thinking," Tina replied, "Wondering where he's going."

"Who knows? Some Island somewhere? Anyway," Jack admitted, "I don't think we've seen the last of him. Corny as that sounds. Besides, you look like you could use something to eat."

"How about Pizza?" Tina smiled. "Oh: And you're paying. I get monster-waker-upper's privelige."

They both turned back towards the damaged New York skyline, Tina taking one last glance at the water.

Even after all that, Godzilla was still somehow a mystery. What he was, how he worked, where he came from… had he saved her out of the goodness of his heart, or some innate sense of honour? Had he stopped the Gryphon for himself, or for the Earth? Odds were, nobody would ever know.

And maybe, she thought, that wasn't such a bad thing.

All she knew was this: If this world was ever again in need of a protector… if he was needed…

Godzilla would be back.

THE END


End file.
